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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Will They Be Back?

The Seattle Seahawks hold their last training-camp practice of 1997 at Eastern Washington University this morning.

Will they be back?

Numerous Seahawks officials, coach Dennis Erickson and many players hope so.

EWU certainly hopes so.

Most signs point to a return, but no decision has been made, and probably won’t be made for a while.

“All I can tell you is that the feedback I’ve received has been very positive,” said Bob Whitsitt, president of Football Northwest Inc.

“We’ll sit down at an appropriate time, talk to our football people and see how it worked for them.”

Well listen up, Bob.

“It’s been everything we wanted,” Erickson said. “Without a doubt, I will push for it.”

“Overall it’s been a great experience,” punter Rick Tuten said. “We’re a little displaced, but heck, this isn’t a holiday. This is about getting ready for a football season. I would think that outweighs having a good time on our off-hours.”

“I think everybody thought it’s been tremendous,” said Gary Wright, vice president of administration/communications.

The camp has been popular with fans. More than 10,000 visited the NFL Experience. Some 7,000 Fox Kids Club T-shirts were handed out. Cumulative practice attendance estimates range between 18,000-23,000.

“I’ll probably send them a letter in the next month or so indicating we’d like to have them back,” said Curt Huff, EWU assistant vice president for university and auxiliary services, “because if we know early, we can do a lot of things.”

When the final numbers are crunched, it’s expected the Seahawks will pay EWU nearly $400,000, Huff said, about $100,000 more than original reports.

Costs aren’t a significant issue, Whitsitt said. “We’ve said all along we’re willing to invest dollars if it makes sense.”

What might have some bearing is whether Seattle can ring up early season wins. The Seahawks have been saddled with slow starts in recent seasons. One of the reasons they came to Cheney was to reverse that trend.

For EWU, the month-long camp has been a godsend. The Seahawks have taken up dorm rooms that often are vacant during summer months. To meet the Seahawks’ needs, Huff said, 124 part-time workers have been employed, many of those students.

The Seahawks’ rent check is welcomed, Huff said, but the fringe benefits are incalculable. The nine acres of fields being used are immaculate. “Those fields don’t normally look this good,” Huff said.

The university has received gobs of attention, said Huff, pointing out EWU is receiving daily TV and newspaper coverage in Seattle. “It gives us a chance to show off our facilities.”

That could influence visiting parents to consider sending their children to EWU. Many visitors to camp have been high schoolers.

“They’ve brought all kinds of tourists into town,” said Amy Jo Sooy, executive director of the Cheney Chamber of Commerce. “There’s been a major economic impact at a usually slow time.”

However, the final decision won’t be based on what training camp has done for EWU and the region. It’ll be based on what it’s done for the Seahawks.

Players say they’re in better condition after a month of workouts in 90-degree weather.

“You have to put a good sweat in,” linebacker Joe Cain said. “It’s good that it’s a little toasty.”

Cheney’s isolation can be a plus or a minus, but players seem to view it as a necessary evil.

“I’ve enjoyed camp lots more than probably the last three years (in Kirkland),” offensive lineman Howard Ballard said. “There’s something about being in an isolated place where you get to know people better, you learn more about their families and themselves.”

Players have found ways to beat boredom, including cards, video games, golf and boating. EWU’s pool has become a post-practice, cool-down ritual.

“A bunch of us rented a pontoon boat in Coeur d’Alene,” Tuten said. “We’ve done the movie thing, all the things everybody else does around here.

“When in Rome…”

Few injuries have been sustained on EWU’s grass fields, though some players might have writer’s cramp from signing autographs.

“That’s all part of it,” a smiling Cain said.

There is a reciprocal value to having practice spectators, which were prohibited at Kirkland camps. “The crowds have been unbelievable,” Erickson said. “That makes a difference to players when they practice.”

Wright acknowledged that fan interest east of the Cascades had dwindled since camp was moved from Cheney to Kirkland in 1986.

“We almost lost a whole generation, with 10 years of not being there,” he said.

Wright believes the Seahawks have reconnected with some disenchanted fans and brought in new ones.

Erickson believes so, too. Still, his ultimate goal is fielding a better team.

“It’s very special here,” he said. “I’m sure some players when they get together might bitch and complain, but I haven’t heard anything negative at all. If we have the success I think we’re going to have, everybody will want to come back for that month.

“Hopefully it’ll become a tradition.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo