CORTLAND, N.Y. — U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) is pushing for the National Football League’s (NFL) New York Jets to keep their summer training camp at SUNY Cortland.
Schumer on Monday announced his support for SUNY Cortland at Syracuse University’s (SU) Ensley Athletic Center, the school’s new indoor practice facility for football and lacrosse on SU’s South Campus.
Dr. Erik Bitterbaum, president of SUNY Cortland, joined Schumer at the event.
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The idea of moving the training camp to New Jersey “has been floated,” according to Schumer’s office.
Schumer announced his support knowing the Jets and SUNY Cortland haven’t extended their agreement for the training-camp venue. The Jets have held their camp at SUNY Cortland annually since 2009, except for the 2011 season over concerns about the NFL lockout.
The Jets are also in the process of hiring a new coach and general manager, which also adds to the uncertainty of the training camp’s future in Central New York, Schumer said.
“If the Jets were to move their training camp elsewhere, away from Cortland and Central New York, especially to a different state, it would be a real loss for football fans in the region,” Schumer said in his remarks at the event.
The annual, three-week training camp is a “tremendous boon” to the local economy, generating close to $5 million each year, Schumer said. The camp attracted 22,000 football fans last summer, the lawmaker added.
The SUNY system spent almost $500,000 last year to accommodate the Jets and the state invested more than $500,000 back in 2010 to upgrade the SUNY Cortland facilities to NFL standards, Schumer noted.
Schumer said he spoke with Jets owner Woody Johnson a few days ago and told him that keeping the Jets training camp in Cortland is “important” for local businesses and fans around the region.
“Woody told me that they have not made any decision yet regarding the future of SUNY Cortland and that they would not make any decisions until after they go through the process of hiring a head coach and a general manager,” Schumer said.
The senator indicated that Johnson told him that he “likes Cortland very much,” and the Jets have been “very very happy” with the training camp there.