Senator Chuck Schumer urged the New York Jets to continue holding summer training camp workouts in Cortland, during a press conference on Monday at Syracuse University's Ensley Athletic Center.
SUNY Cortland has hosted training camp for the Jets since 2009, when then-head coach Rex Ryan moved it from Hofstra University on Long Island. But the team recently fired Ryan as well as general manager, John Idzik.
Schumer said there isn't any agreement in place for future training camps.
"Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that the Jets will be back. There's currently no agreement in place for the Jets to return to SUNY Cortland," he said. "With the firing of coach Rex Ryan, who was one of the biggest advocates for holding training camp in Cortland, the future is far from certain."
Schumer said moving training camp away from Cortland would hurt the Central New York Economy. More than 150,000 people have gone to the practices since 2009, according to a report from two SUNY Cortland professors. That's produced almost $24 million for the county and region economy.
The study found that the 2014 Jets training camp drew about 22,000 fans and $4.6 million of revenue to the Central New York economy.
"In addition, it attracted visitors from 34 different states and four different countries," Schumer said, citing the report. "And what do they do? They stay in the hotels. They eat in the restaurants. They support the local stores."
Schumer added that Jets owner Woody Johnson told him that any decision about the future of SUNY Cortland won't come until after the team hires a new head coach and general manager.
Said Schumer, "But the good news is he told me that he likes Cortland very much and the Jets have been very, very happy with the training camp in Cortland and with the cooperation of both the university and the city."
