Discussions will begin in a few weeks between the New Orleans Saints and Nicholls to determine if the Saints will be returning to Thibodaux for their summer training camp in July. Last year, the Saints signed a four-year contract with Nicholls for the summer training camp, Michael Davis, assistant vice president of business affairs and training camp coordinator, said.

“Our contract calls for them to come back. They have not contacted us yet this year to talk about it, but I am sure they have been very distracted with free agency and getting ready for the draft,” he said.

“It was pretty much the same way last year. I am sure they will be contacting us very shortly and we will be sitting down to discuss next year,” Davis said.

Jay Romig, New Orleans Saints training camp coordinator said that the Saints will contact Nicholls by the end of March to discuss training camp.

“We have a contract in place that we signed last year,” Romig said.

The contract includes escape clauses which would allow for the Saints to move to another location, Davis said. If the Saints move from Louisiana, the contract with Nicholls is void. However, the Saints would pay Nicholls a penalty fee if they were to move the location of the training camp either this year or next year. If they decide not to return to Nicholls for the fourth year of the contract, they would not have to pay a penalty fee.

Any penalty fees the Saints pay to Nicholls would go into the University’s scholarship fund, Davis said.

Having the Saints at Nicholls has been a benefit to the University, he said.

“In the two years that they have been here, roughly $ 1.5 million has been put back into the University in the form of renovations that directly benefit our student body,” Davis said.

This past year, Nicholls has used money from the Saints to pay for renovations of Calecas Hall, construction of the parking lot and sidewalks between the softball field and Gouaux Hall, and installation of underground watering systems in the football field and women’s soccer field, he said.

“We (also) invested a good bit of money in building a new laundry facility in Barker Hall which not only met the needs of the Saints, but also meets the needs of the University,” Davis said.

Both the athletic department and residential services use the commercial washers and dryers. Residential services use the facilities when for various camps that take place on campus.

The amount of money the Saints pay to Nicholls depends on the number of days of training camp. According to the contract between the two parties, the Saints will pay Nicholls the lesser of two figures. Either $32,980 plus $1,120 times the number of days they are in training camp or $2, 500 per day times the number of days of training camp.

“(The Saints) pay us for renting all the athletic facilities, locker rooms, practice fields, the stadium and Ayo Hall where they held classes at a figure of $1,850 per day each day of training camp,” Davis said.

“If I had to guess an average, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 that (the Saints) would pay (Nicholls) for being here.

The Saints pay Nicholls for every day of training camp, even if they are not practicing. The only time the two parties would negotiate a new figure is if the Saints were gone for a week, for example, to play a game out of the country, he said.

The Saints pay roughly $337,000 to Sodexho for food. This amount can also fluctuate, depending on the type and amount of food ordered, Davis said.

The additional revenue Sodexho receives from the Saints is beneficial to the students, he said.

“The more revenue (Sodexho) generates on the outside like that, the more of a chance we have of keeping the increases in the meal prices as low as possible. The costs are always going to increase a little bit, but, if we did not have that type of revenue coming into Sodexho, we might be looking at a bigger increase in the meal ticket prices,” Davis said.

A major concern that the Saints have regarding holding training camp at Nicholls is lack of an appropriate indoor facility, he said. There are plans for a sugar warehouse to be built in the area, but it is unknown if that will satisfy the Saints’ needs, he said.

“The only (indoor facility) I can think of at this time is at Louisiana State University, but LSU is using its facility at this time. It is not available for the Saints to use. I do not know what else they could do at this particular time,” Davis said.

If the proposal to build the campus recreation center at Nicholls goes through, it will not provide ample room for the Saints to use as an indoor facility, he said.

Having the Saints at Nicholls has been good for the University’s publicity as well, Davis said.

“The first year, many people set foot on this campus who had never been to Lafourche parish, Thibodaux or Nicholls State. They did not know what we were about. I think they left with a very favorable impression of the community and University,” Davis said.

There are not many negative aspects to the arrangement, he said.

“It does not affect summer school in any way, shape or form, because (the Saints) do not arrive here until summer school ends,” he said.

It does take maintenance workers several hours to prepare the dormitories for the students, but the employees are willing to do a little extra work because they “take pride in having the Saints here,” Davis said.

“There is a little inconvenience, but what we have gained from having it here far outweighs that. The biggest thing for us is that we always keep our eyes on our main objective and main goal of Nicholls State University, which is to educate. That is our first and foremost mission, not to be the Saints’ training camp,” he said.

Nicholls officials strive to make sure that having the Saints here does not negatively affect the students, Davis said.

“That is why we were very insistent this past year on improvements that were going to benefit the student body. If it is not going to help them, we are not interested in doing it,” he said.

“We are very optimistic that they will be here. There is no reason to believe that they will not be here. I think they were very pleased with the hard work of the employees and with the reception they received from the students and administration,” Davis said.

Holding the Saints’ training camp at Nicholls is good for the Saints too, Romig said, because it is close to New Orleans. The players enjoy being near home, and the fans enjoy being able to visit the camp. The Saints’ staff also like the facilities, Romig said.

Many Nicholls students like the fact that the Saints train at Nicholls.

“I feel that keeping the Saints at Nicholls is good because of the positive impact it has had on the University. It has brought publicity to both the school and the community of Thibodaux,” Cassie Addison, marine biology junior from Starks, said.

“It has put Thibodaux on the map.