Will the Detroit Lions Move Training Camp to West Virginia?

August 13th, eleven weeks from today (May 28th), the Detroit Lions are scheduled to play the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium in their first pre-season football game. But, where will they train before that game and before the (scheduled) opener against the Bears on September 13th? They've trained for years in Allen Park, in the suburbs of Detroit - obviously one of the hardest hit areas in America when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. Who knows if that area will have strict conditions for a lot longer than the rest of the state? Is there another option for a training site?

There might be.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia has been, "contacted by several NFL teams interested in using The Greenbrier Sports Performance Center, our state-of-the-art football training facility, as part of their contingency plans for Training Camp." And the Lions (along with the Carolina Panthers) have received a proposal about moving their camp to The Greenbrier. The teams get a great place to train and the Greenbrier can attract some of the teams' fans to stay there. This move would make sense, but it would be the first time the Lions haven't held camp in Michigan in 75 years. And make all the West Virginia jokes you want, but that resort and that area of the country are beautiful.

Of course, then there's the problem of having a full crowd at Ford Field when they open the season. The NFL is planning on full stadiums right off the bat. We'll see what the "powers that be" in the State of Michigan have to say about that.

Here's the story.