FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL-31 7/24/97
NFL Commissioner PAUL TAGLIABUE completed a tour of four NFL training camps this week -- all based in the Wisconsin "Cheese League" -- and now heads to Canton, Ohio for the 1997 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremonies this weekend.
Tagliabue stopped at the camps of the Green Bay Packers at St. Norbert College in DePere; Kansas City Chiefs at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls in River Falls; Minnesota Vikings at Mankato State in Mankato; and New Orleans Saints at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in LaCrosse.
The Commissioner met with players, coaches, club officials, game officials, media and fans on the trip. Following are some of his comments:
* On MIKE DITKA and the other new NFL head coaches: "I think it has tremendous impact, not just Mike but the other coaches, like DICK VERMEIL. Mike, in the minds of many people, is extra special. He was a great player and was and is a great coach. He’s such a leader and role model for so many people. He generates interest on a lot of levels."
* On the Saints’ training camp: "The facilities are great. The atmosphere and environment are outstanding. It is a good place to concentrate, to work in an environment which enables the team to connect with the fans."
* On the Vikings’ prospects: "They have depth on both sides of the ball, some good players in the RANDALL MC DANIELs and BRAD JOHNSONs, and a chance to go further in the playoffs than they have the last four years."
* On a dual-purpose stadium for the Vikings and Minnesota Twins: "There are going to be communities -- medium-sized communities, and this area is one of them -- where if you have four major league franchises, it makes a lot of sense to look at a dual-purpose building. Not the past generation of dual-purpose buildings, which didn’t really work too well for baseball and didn’t work too well for football. But a new generation of designs, a new generation of engineering."
* On the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium: "There are no concerns with Arrowhead. It is a great stadium. It has the advantage of being built in the early 1970s as one of the new generation of single-purpose football stadiums."
* On future NFL cities: "Cleveland is No. 1. We are committed to bringing the Browns back on the field in 1999. Beyond that, Los Angeles and Houston are priorities for the league."
* On realignment: "We are going to have to give some real focus to realignment as we prepare for the television negotiations because that would be something the networks would have an interest in if you started moving teams across conferences. We’ll have to identify options and alternatives and maybe do a little prioritizing as to what might get the broadest consensus among the membership. We’ll have to be prepared to answer some questions from FOX and NBC and any other network that is interested in Sunday afternoon packages."
* On Cleveland: "We have certain commitments to Cleveland as to where the Browns would be slotted in the AFC Central with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Basically, the concept is they would be back in the old AFC Central. But that division obviously is being recast with Jacksonville and the Oilers in Tennessee."