WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — Thousands of people are expected to be part of Saturday’s “Picnic with the Saints” at The Greenbrier Resort, as those with the NFL’s New Orleans Saints settle into their Greenbrier County digs for three weeks of training camp.
On field practices at the Advocare Sports Performance Facility, an almost $30 million training facility with three football fields, began Friday.
“It’s exactly what I wanted it to be,” Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier Resort, said on Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline” of the camp so far. He said the facility, built for the Saints in a matter of months, is getting good reviews.
“Players were going crazy and everything about the fields and the weight room and everything that’s all set up and everybody’s really, really, really happy with what we’ve got going on here.”
As of Friday morning, wristbands for the “Picnic with the Saints” were still being sold for $10 on The Greenbrier’s website which can be found here. Participants were being told to bring their receipts from the online purchases to the State Fairgrounds on Saturday. Shuttles will take people to the practice site.
The schedule for Saturday’s “Picnic with the Saints” is as follows:
3:30 p.m. Grand Opening of Advocare Sports Performance Facility
4:30 p.m. Training begins. Tours of the facility will also be available.
5:30 p.m. Training ends.
6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Picnic with New Orleans Saints players and coaches with time for photographs and autographs.
“Coach (Sean) Payton has told us he wants 100 tables set up all around the field and he wants a player to every table and it’ll be fun,” Justice said.
Overall, the Saints will hold 20 open practices in White Sulphur Springs through Aug. 14, including a scrimmage on Aug. 2. A full training schedule is available here.