Opening day brought fans from around the country to see the athletes break in the field. Chad Whitebread from Kansas took a detour from visiting family in North Carolina to bring his son, a big Falcons fan.
"He's been wanting to come out and see them," said Whitebread, himself a Chiefs fan, "We made sure we came out this way to see them. It looks wonderful. I've been out to Chiefs Camp before, but this is a much nicer facility."
John Haynes, of Gainesville's Turnstile Deli was running a Turnstile concession stand for the event. Turnstile has been working with the Falcons since 2002.
"It's going very smooth," said Haynes, "A lot of preparation. You have to really work hard to get it done; we have a lot of staff. Arthur Blank and his organization really expect top-notch, and so you just have to always be prepared."
"I think it's going to have an incredible economic effect," Haynes continued, "Just look at the number of people out here today, the first day. Even if you just look at what we do as far as our purchases for the kitchen to feed the team and the other people that are involved in the camp here."
Players raved about the complex, calling it the best training facility they had ever seen.
"It's beautiful! I've never seen anything like it, other than like the Ritz-Carlton or something," said Falcon Keion Carpenter, "I told Mr. Blank he needed to get me a room for the year. This is five-star right here."
Veteran fullback Fred McCrary agreed, "I've been around, you know; this is my tenth year in the league. There's nothing that even compares to this. I'm telling you, I've been on a few different teams, and hands down Mr. Blank went all out on this thing. Why would you ever want to play anywhere else?"
http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/7/129550