Where would you rather have them practice when the stadium is being used for something else?
Operationally it's in the best interest of the stadium to have a practice field nearby so that other revenue-generating activities can go on at the stadium while non-revenue-generating activities (practices) can go on on the other field. The Stamps have had a practice field down the hill from the stadium since pretty much "Day One" at McMahon. Unless you're willing to let Stamps practices take priority over other uses of the stadium—which admittedly are limited these days, which is a big underlying problem—they need another field nearby.
That said, it's not as though this plan didn't consider it. Go back and look at slide 42; in plan "A" they rotated the field around, in plan "B" they eliminated the field entirely.
Frankly I don't think it's a glaring issue that they keep a 6,000 sq yd patch of grass (it's not a regulation-size (150x65) field, FYI) stuck in a corner of the site with limited accessibility. Most people probably don't even know that the practice field is already there, and has been there for 60 years...
|