A Giant-sized new home?

Giants' Spring Training has begun! They are working out an the campus of the University of Albany, where I teach. I enjoy spending part of this time of year watching the team. I may not be able to enjoy it for long. As reported in our local newspaper, the Giants' current agreement with the University expires this year, and they have not yet renewed it.

Apparently, the University faces competition from the Giants' own facility. A $90 million training and office facility in East Rutherford, NJ opened earlier this year. While the team has not stated that the facility is designed for spring training, why would they build such a large and expensive facility if they did not intend to use it as much as possible?

There are further financial incentives to practice at home. They would not have to pay to have their equipment moved to Albany for training, and then moved back to East Rutherford for the season. They would also not have to pay the University $300,000 a year for the use of their facilities. Granted, the Giants WOULD have to pay for maintaining and upkeep of the practice field during training, and pay for the extra players' facilities, since the number of players at camp exceeds the number intended for use of the training facilities, but these expenses would be less than the cost of holding training camp at UAlbany.

The team claims they have no intend to move away from Albany. They enjoy the calmer environment of Albany, and find an advantage of practicing on a "foreign" field. That's one reason why most pro teams hold spring practice elsewhere -- it helps prepare for road games.

Still, with the economy being what it is, could more teams look for ways to cut costs? Could travel camps be one area cut? The Giants don't seem to have income problems, thanks to their surprise Super Bowl victory two seasons ago, but other teams might consider the option.

As a fan, I love the opportunity to see the team during camp. Moving to East Rutherford makes it further away, and the protection around the facility makes it harder to see them. And this might be the greatest reason teams choose to practice close to home or distantly -- connection to the fans. More than any other league, the NFL knows the importance of maintaining their fan base. If the spring training audience is as large as it was last year, the Giants are likely to sign a contract extension.