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NFL looking into Jaguars' camp access policy


Jaguars are only team to announce closure of camp following first preseason game.


By VITO STELLINO, The Times-Union


The Jaguars' decision to close the third and final week of training camp to fans and the media has prompted the NFL to study whether it needs guidelines for media access to training camp practice sessions.


In an announcement made last month, the Jaguars said they were closing training camp to fans and media after the first preseason game.

The Jaguars are the only team in the league to announce that policy, although the Redskins want to limit media access to about five reporters after their first preseason game.

The Jaguars' first training-camp practice will be held Saturday, July 30. The final practice open to media and fans will be Friday, Aug.12, and the Jaguars will play their first preseason game against Miami the following night. The following week, which is the final week of training camp, would then be closed.

After an inquiry by the Pro Football Writers of America, the league announced it would decide whether it needed rules for training camp.

"We currently don't have any rules [regarding media access to camp],'' said league spokesman Greg Aiello.

He said the league would probably announce a decision by mid-July. If the league issues specific guidelines for training camp, they'll only apply to the media. Teams will continue to have the right to close camp to fans at their discretion.

The league hasn't had a policy for access to training camp because teams have traditionally had training camp open to fans and media. Some teams have used camp as a promotional and marketing tool.

Also, opposing teams are not allowed to send scouts to view the practices even if they are open to the public, unless the teams charge admission.

The Redskins and Raiders each closed camp after their second preseason game last year. Because the Redskins played five preseason games last year, the team closed camp with three preseason games left. That's the same thing the Jaguars are doing this year.

The Redskins are playing just four preseason games this year, and coach Joe Gibbs wants to close it after the first preseason game while making an exception for about five reporters.

Gibbs said he wanted to cut down on the number of reporters at practice because he said the media contingent had grown during his 11-year absence from the league.

David Elfin, a writer for the Washington Times who is the current PFWA president, said in a statement: "The Pro Football Writers of America emphatically asks that all 32 teams allow media members to report on training camp. It's the time of the year when we can evaluate position battles and see how rookies are developing. It's also counterproductive for teams that need to sell tickets to limit coverage of their team.''

The Jaguars started an advertising blitz this week to sell season tickets. After covering 9,713 seats, they need to sell about 49,000 non-premium seats to lift television blackouts for home games. They're currently about 7,000 seats per game shy of the blackout number. They also have more than 2,500 premium seats for sale.

On top of lifting the blackouts, increased ticket sales would help the Jaguars' bottom line -- they reported they lost money in 2002 and 2004.

Although the majority of teams still allow access to all of camp, Elfin said the PFWA is concerned that an access-eliminating trend could evolve.

Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said last month that he was closing training camp after the first preseason game because the Jaguars wanted to get into "specific season preparation'' that he wants to hold privately. Del Rio also closed nine of the 14 organized team activities in May and June to the media after opening all of them last year. He also said recently he thinks that members of the Jacksonville media should be Jaguars fans.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers closed minicamp this year and general manager Bruce Allen said at the time that closing minicamp was a "better situation'' for the team.

The Bucs open their training camp at the Disney World sports complex to the media, but close it after the second preseason game when they return to Tampa on the grounds that they are then in their regular-season mode.

The league allows teams to close regular-season practices to the media despite lobbying by the PFWA on the grounds that the teams are game-planning for specific teams.

The league, though, does have specific guidelines requiring that the locker room be open to the members of the media on game day and during the week in the regular season.