Are the Raiders going back to Cali? The Costa Mesa City Council on Tuesday will discuss in its regular meeting the possibility of brokering a one-year agreement regarding the Fairview Road complex, recently vacated by the Los Angeles Chargers, who held camp there since 2017. The Raiders are seriously looking into making Costa Mesa their home for training camp.
“Costa Mesa is proud to be one of only two cities in the country to host an NFL team’s summer training camp in a publicly owned facility,” City Manager Lori Ann Farrell Harrison said in a release Friday. “Jack Hammett is a treasure and we are excited to potentially have a new NFL team training here.”
Costa Mesa’s new proposal:
Under the proposed agreement, the Raiders would pay the city $165,000 in rent and would agree to make an estimated $600,000 worth of improvements to fields at the 14.5-acre facility, the release indicated.
The team would agree to establish a junior training camp for kids ages 6 to 12. Also will provide 100 tickets for local students to attend an NFL game in Southern California. Would make a donation of $10,000 to a local youth sports team.
Additionally, outdoor weight training equipment would be donated to nearby Costa Mesa High School. While a new mobile recreation van would be made available for use by programs in underserved areas throughout the city.
Starting in mid-July, the team would use the site’s fields for its training camp. Bringing fields No. 3 and 4 up to standards required by the National Football League. Team representatives have further committed to hosting public practices to give fans up-close experiences with players.
Activities at Jack Hammett are not anticipated to disrupt regular youth sports hosted there, as the site’s fields typically undergo renovation during summer months.
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