By Ross Jackson
The New Orleans Saints are taking a portion of their training camp back to the west coast after returning home to Metairie, La. for a few weeks.
The Saints will return to the University of California, Irvine campus where they held the entirety of training camp last year. Although, this time it’s centered around their first preseason game.
“We will go to California and kind of tie it around our Chargers preseason game,” head coach Kellen Moore said during his final mandatory minicamp availability. And so we’ll be there August 6 through August 15 for a small window.”
The team migrated west because parts of their home facility were being renovated, but this year the team is going for a different reason.
New head coach Kellen Moore has been very focused on not only installing and teaching new schemes and systems to his roster, but also building a sense of togetherness across the player group.
Between community rebuilding projects and cancelling the final day of mandatory minicamp in favor of a team-bonding activity, Moore and the Saints’ organization have made a concerted effort to create camaraderie amongst the players. While moving camp to Irvine for a little more than a week may seem like a decision that’s just about getting out of the heat, it has another key value for the team.
“I think more importantly, it’s a really good opportunity for us to put the guys in a little bit of a different environment,” Moore said. “Those guys will spend a lot of time together naturally when you kind of go on a longer road trip. And so we feel that’s a great opportunity for our team to continue to connect.”
The ten-day trip to California will allow the players and coaches to spend a lot of time together off of the practice field. Players will get chances to eat together, study together and spend time bonding away from football. All of which are positives in building chemistry and connection.
Unlike last year, however, the Saints will start camp at home in Metairie where they have opened nine of their 11 practices at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center. That makes training camp not just a connection-building opportunity among the players, but also between the players and their fanbase.
Open practices for 2025 Training Camp👏
Reserve your tickets Tuesday, July 1st! pic.twitter.com/i8Q9WO8WSK
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 30, 2025
