New Orleans Saints

Saints will hold training camp in Metairie

New Orleans Saints center Max Unger (60) talks with head coach Sean Payton during the NFL football teams training camp in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. last year. The Saints will have training camp in Metairie this summer.
New Orleans Saints center Max Unger (60) talks with head coach Sean Payton during the NFL football teams training camp in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. last year. The Saints will have training camp in Metairie this summer. Associated Press

The Saints are coming home.

After holding the first phase of training camp in West Virginia the last three years, the team announced it will be holding camp at the team’s facility on Airline Drive in Metairie.

“Our entire organization is excited to be returning to hold training camp at our facility in Metairie in 2017,” owner Tom Benson said in a statement. “This will be a great opportunity for our passionate fans from throughout the Gulf South to be able to experience the fun, excitement and interaction of Saints training camp as our team prepares for what we expect to be a very exciting season.”

The Houston Texans recently announced that they will be holding camp at The Greenbrier with the Saints coming back home. New Orleans finished 7-9 each of the last three seasons.

The team previously held training camp at Metairie from 2003-2005 and from 2009-2013. The Saints practiced at Millsaps College in Jackson from 2006-2008.

General manager Mickey Loomis thanked the Greenbrier and governor Jim Justin, who owns the resort, for their hospitality the last three seasons and said it was an outstanding experience in a statement.

“However, we have decided that holding training camp at our practice facility is the right thing to do for our club at this time, where we have the combination of an indoor practice facility in the case of inclement weather as well as access to all of the state-of-the art technology in areas such as our medical, weight and video facilities, all factors which are integral to supporting the preparations of our football team,” he said.

For more, read theAdvocate.com.

This story was originally published February 9, 2017 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Saints will hold training camp in Metairie."

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