Broncos won't go back to Greeley
After 21 years, team to train at Dove Valley
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
March 18, 2003
The idea of the Denver Broncos moving their training camp closer to home had been brewing for three or four years.
So when it was announced Monday the Broncos were ending their 21-year relationship with Greeley, it was less shocking to the city's residents than the sudden closing of the Smiling Moose, one of the University of Northern Colorado's top hangouts that locked its doors in December.
Still, the announcement created a buzz up north. The Broncos will move training camp to their Dove Valley headquarters in Arapahoe County in July.
"It's a sad day for Greeley," said Sarah MacQuiddy, president of that city's convention and visitors bureau, which promoted the Broncos camp as a summer attraction. "Any time you lose the ability to have an economic impact in your community, that's a loss."
Diminishing returns were cited as the primary reason for the switch, with Broncos coach Mike Shanahan the driving force behind it.
Camp used to last six weeks but has been cut nearly in half. The reason: Players are arriving at camp in better condition than ever, because of increased participation in the team's off-season conditioning program. Mini-camps held twice after the draft and individual player workouts supplement those sessions.
And with a synthetic practice field to be added to the Dove Valley complex for the anticipated July 24 start of camp, few compelling reasons remained for dragging all the team's equipment and personnel elsewhere. The artificial surface will supplement Dove Valley's two grass fields and give the team additional practice space.
The team's medical, video and equipment staffs also can use their own work spaces.
"The process of going all the way up to Greeley - not that Greeley's a long way, but having to move the whole operation, it wasn't making sense anymore," Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said.
Denver will be among 10 NFL teams that hold training camp at their regular facilities. Others are Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New England, the New York Jets, Tennessee and Washington. Green Bay stays home but practices at a nearby college.
"I think you're going to see a lot of clubs over the next three or four years drift in this direction," Bowlen predicted.
Several logistical issues remain.
At UNC, players lived in a dormitory and were ushered where they needed to be on golf carts. While nothing has been decided, the Broncos likely will use a local hotel to house "the vast majority . . . if not all" of the players, according to Bowlen, hopefully fostering the camaraderie of previous living arrangements at camp.
More tricky is how to continue giving fans access to the Broncos. The sight of fans lounging on the hills overlooking the practice fields was a Greeley fixture. The daily autograph lines were another. Bowlen admits there's much planning left in that area and fan contact will be scaled back.
"It's not going to be as free-flowing because we won't have that kind of space," Bowlen said. "But as far as the fans are concerned, we recognize that the fans are going to want to come out and watch practice and what goes on, and they're going to want to get autographs. And we'll accommodate them."
Denver extricated itself from its arrangement with Greeley through an exit clause in its contract. And while MacQuiddy says no economic impact study has been conducted, the Broncos certainly generated local revenue. Family vacations went through the city. Fans dined at local establishments. Sportswriters reported from the town, giving it media exposure without costing Greeley a cent.
"It definitely won't be the same," Broncos linebacker Keith Burns said. "Some fans kind of build their summer around making sure they're allowed to go to training camp. They'll have to make the adjustment just as well as the players."
At least speeding tickets incurred on the drive between Denver and camp will disappear. And Dove Valley is a safe distance from the Greeley feedlots. "Hopefully, the only thing that will be missing is the smell," Burns joked.
"It was kind of a pain," guard Dan Neil said. "You'd rather be home spending as much time with your family as possible, and you're having to uproot and go there for three or four weeks. So it'll be nice to stay home. But it was also nice to get away from the house for three or four weeks . . .
"But I'm happy we're staying here. I think it will be easier."
After 21 years, team to train at Dove Valley
By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News
March 18, 2003
The idea of the Denver Broncos moving their training camp closer to home had been brewing for three or four years.
So when it was announced Monday the Broncos were ending their 21-year relationship with Greeley, it was less shocking to the city's residents than the sudden closing of the Smiling Moose, one of the University of Northern Colorado's top hangouts that locked its doors in December.
Still, the announcement created a buzz up north. The Broncos will move training camp to their Dove Valley headquarters in Arapahoe County in July.
"It's a sad day for Greeley," said Sarah MacQuiddy, president of that city's convention and visitors bureau, which promoted the Broncos camp as a summer attraction. "Any time you lose the ability to have an economic impact in your community, that's a loss."
Diminishing returns were cited as the primary reason for the switch, with Broncos coach Mike Shanahan the driving force behind it.
Camp used to last six weeks but has been cut nearly in half. The reason: Players are arriving at camp in better condition than ever, because of increased participation in the team's off-season conditioning program. Mini-camps held twice after the draft and individual player workouts supplement those sessions.
And with a synthetic practice field to be added to the Dove Valley complex for the anticipated July 24 start of camp, few compelling reasons remained for dragging all the team's equipment and personnel elsewhere. The artificial surface will supplement Dove Valley's two grass fields and give the team additional practice space.
The team's medical, video and equipment staffs also can use their own work spaces.
"The process of going all the way up to Greeley - not that Greeley's a long way, but having to move the whole operation, it wasn't making sense anymore," Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said.
Denver will be among 10 NFL teams that hold training camp at their regular facilities. Others are Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, New England, the New York Jets, Tennessee and Washington. Green Bay stays home but practices at a nearby college.
"I think you're going to see a lot of clubs over the next three or four years drift in this direction," Bowlen predicted.
Several logistical issues remain.
At UNC, players lived in a dormitory and were ushered where they needed to be on golf carts. While nothing has been decided, the Broncos likely will use a local hotel to house "the vast majority . . . if not all" of the players, according to Bowlen, hopefully fostering the camaraderie of previous living arrangements at camp.
More tricky is how to continue giving fans access to the Broncos. The sight of fans lounging on the hills overlooking the practice fields was a Greeley fixture. The daily autograph lines were another. Bowlen admits there's much planning left in that area and fan contact will be scaled back.
"It's not going to be as free-flowing because we won't have that kind of space," Bowlen said. "But as far as the fans are concerned, we recognize that the fans are going to want to come out and watch practice and what goes on, and they're going to want to get autographs. And we'll accommodate them."
Denver extricated itself from its arrangement with Greeley through an exit clause in its contract. And while MacQuiddy says no economic impact study has been conducted, the Broncos certainly generated local revenue. Family vacations went through the city. Fans dined at local establishments. Sportswriters reported from the town, giving it media exposure without costing Greeley a cent.
"It definitely won't be the same," Broncos linebacker Keith Burns said. "Some fans kind of build their summer around making sure they're allowed to go to training camp. They'll have to make the adjustment just as well as the players."
At least speeding tickets incurred on the drive between Denver and camp will disappear. And Dove Valley is a safe distance from the Greeley feedlots. "Hopefully, the only thing that will be missing is the smell," Burns joked.
"It was kind of a pain," guard Dan Neil said. "You'd rather be home spending as much time with your family as possible, and you're having to uproot and go there for three or four weeks. So it'll be nice to stay home. But it was also nice to get away from the house for three or four weeks . . .
"But I'm happy we're staying here. I think it will be easier."
