Senator urges New York Jets to keep training camp in Cortland

SYRACUSE — A prominent New Yorker hopes the National Football League’s (NFL) New York Jets will continue traveling to Cortland County for their annual training camp.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) wants the NFL franchise to maintain its training-camp operations at SUNY Cortland.

Schumer on Jan. 12 shared his view at a press conference 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 Syracuse event.

The idea of moving the training camp to New Jersey “has been floated,” according to Schumer’s office.

Schumer asked the team not to change its training-camp location, knowing the Jets and SUNY Cortland haven’t extended their agreement for use of the venue. The Jets have held their camp at SUNY Cortland annually since 2009, except for the 2011 season over concerns about the NFL lockout.

“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 also attracted 22,000 football fans last summer, the lawmaker added.

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.

During the Jan. 12 event, Schumer said he spoke with Jets owner Woody Johnson “a few days ago” and told him that keeping 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 Democrat indicated that Johnson told him that he “likes Cortland very much,” and the Jets have been “very, very happy” with the training camp in Cortland.

Economic impact

Since the Jets started holding training camp at SUNY Cortland, 150,000 people have attended the event, Schumer said.

The NFL franchise has generated close to $24 million in economic activity for Cortland County and for Central New York, the lawmaker added.

“It’s not just an attraction for people in Cortland or even just Central New York. It’s for fans from all over the state, the country, and even the world,” said Schumer.

According to a study that SUNY Cortland professors Kathleen Burke and Wendy Miller conducted, visitors to training camp came from 57 of New York’s 62 counties.

In addition, the training camp attracted visitors from 34 different states and four different countries, Schumer’s office said in referencing the study.

“And what do they do? They stay in the hotels. They eat in the restaurants. They support the local stores,” said Schumer.

The Jets’ training camp provides Cortland with national exposure and the SUNY Cortland community with “innumerable” benefits. 

“They get increased fundraising, internships for students, new marketing opportunities, and any effort to move the training camp elsewhere is unacceptable,” he added.