Seahawks Look At Return To Cheney Ewu Being Studied As A Possible Location For Training Camp
The Seattle Seahawks may return to Eastern Washington University for training camp, possibly as early as next July.
A source close to negotiations between the National Football League club and the university said a Seahawks move back to Cheney is a “strong possibility.”
The Seahawks trained at EWU for the first 10 years of their existence, 1976-85.
Although the future of the club is in question over ownership and stadium issues, club officials want to shore up a declining statewide fan base, said the source, who asked not to be identified.
Odds on re-establishing ties with EWU have “improved greatly in the past four weeks,” the source said.
EWU athletic director Dick Zornes confirmed Monday that Ken Dolan, executive assistant to university president Mark Drummond, has talked with Seahawks officials.
Randy Mueller, Seahawks vice president of football operations, also confirmed that Cheney is under consideration as a training camp site.
“It’s being talked about,” Mueller said. “No decision has been made.”
The future of the club in Seattle is tied to the funding of an open-air stadium. Billionaire Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has an option to buy the Seahawks from Ken Behring, who has attempted to move the team.
Allen has pledged $100 million to a new stadium that is expected to cost between $370 and $402 million.
Attendance at Seahawks games in the Kingdome in recent years has dwindled.
Seahawks coaches and club officials see benefits in returning to EWU, including fewer distractions, a larger training facility, hotter summer weather and proximity to the airport, Zornes said.
“The coaching staff wants to be here, basically, if they can,” he said.
A Seahawks presence in Cheney was good for the team, the school and this area, Zornes said.
As many as 500 people watched practices daily when the team trained in Cheney, Zornes said, while media coverage “showed off the campus and helped the overall image of the university.”
, DataTimes