Making a ‘GIANT’ impact on the local community 

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – The New York Giants wrapped up training camp at The Greenbrier’s Sports Performance Center on Saturday, and they’re leaving town with a gigantic new contingent of fans in the Mountain State. 

“The Giants’ visit didn’t seem all that important to me at first–until I got to be a part of it,” said Abby DeGraff, a local business owner. “I quickly realized how wrong I was about their impact on our local economy.”

DeGraff prepared protein smoothies and acai bowls for the world class athletes daily, products she offers each week at her eatery, Coco’s (located inside Nova Jiu Jitsu in Fairlea). 

“It was such a gift to be a small part of the nutritional side of the team while they were here,” DeGraff said. “I learned so much about what professional athletes have to do to maintain their schedules and bodies! I was prepping a snack that was a part of their 6ish meal days! How cool is that?”

While DeGraff says she isn’t much of a football or sports fan, “I had the deepest appreciation for football players and what they give to be on the field.”

And the feeling seemed to be mutual. When the Giants took off on a United flight from the Greenbrier Valley Airport on Saturday, DeGraff was there on the runway by request with her now-famous smoothies and acai bowls in coolers for the players to enjoy on the flight. 

“Even if football (or sports in general) isn’t your thing, attending an open practice really opens your eyes to the world of professional sports and the positive ripple effects it can have on a community,” she said. 

Sports at The Springhouse: A storied history 

The Giants are the eighth National Football League team to practice at the famed-resort’s Sports Performance Facility (SPF) according to Cam Huffman, Director of Public Relations. 

“It began when Sean Payton caddied for Ryan Palmer in The Greenbrier Classic in 2013,” Huffman explained, saying Peyton’s feedback led to the construction of the facility which hosted the New Orleans Saints (where Payton then coached) in 2014. 

“The Saints held training camp, with open practices in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the Houston Texans followed with their Training Camps in 2017 and 2018,” said Huffman. 

“The Arizona Cardinals set a trend in 2015, staying at The Greenbrier and training at the SPF between back-to-back road games with Detroit and Pittsburgh instead of traveling back to Arizona. That has become a popular plan of action, as the San Francisco 49ers, Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos have made similar stops between east coast games. 

Other sports teams including the Cleveland Browns, West Virginia University football, Marshall University football, and Juventus Football Club have all trained there at various points over the last 12 years. 

“From the check-in process to the culinary team and the field crew, everyone knows how to perform their roles to an NFL standard, and I think that’s appreciated from the teams,” Huffman says in reference to the hotel’s staff. “It’s also obvious that the Giants have a tremendous staff throughout the organization, and the partnership has been a good one.”

Giant local impact

The Giants historically held training camps at northeastern colleges including Fairleigh Dickinson College and SUNY Albany before moving to their own facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 2013. 

However, with their facility currently under revocation, they began looking for a new location to host camp under new coach John Harbaugh. 

“Thrilled to be here. The mountains are really incredible,” Harbaugh raved at his opening press conference while recalling singing “Country Roads” with his players on the field. “The Greenbrier people (are) so accommodating, so welcoming.”

“Probably the number one thing is the fields are in great shape,” he added. 

Fans from all across the east coast have come out to watch the Giants practice on those Greenbrier fields, with a crowd approaching 3,000 attending last Saturday’s practice. Parking attendants reported an average of 700 cars per day for open practices, with visitors coming from states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. Team officials around the facility shared that they’ve been very pleased with the attendance and engagement both by Giants die-hard fans and locals. 

And the Giants have put their money where their mouth is in showing appreciation. 

Early on in camp, the Giants invited the two closest high school football teams, the Greenbrier East Spartans and the Greenbrier West Cavaliers, to attend camp. 

“We were contacted by the NY Giants with an invitation to attend training camp,” said Joey Hodge, Athletic Director at Greenbrier East. “Simply come and watch practice and do a quick meet and greet. It was a fantastic opportunity for our players to experience something I’m sure most of them dream about as young men growing up playing football.”

Then the Giants made a surprise presentation of $5,000 checks to each football program. (They’ve since made additional donations to other high school football teams in surrounding counties.) 

“The donation to our football program was a wonderful surprise!” Hodge said. “We are extremely grateful to the organization for their generosity! I’m sure the NY Giants gained extra local fans that day!”

But their generosity went beyond the football field, as later in camp they also donated $10,000 to Wellspring of Greenbrier, a nonprofit which helps the county’s most vulnerable citizens with food, laundry, and more on a daily basis. 

“It was such an unexpected gift! I honestly thought it was a prank when I first got the call. Jack Mara from the Giants found us through our website and social media, and seemed genuinely excited about the work we do with our programming,” said Liz Reynolds, Director.

And the donation comes at a time of need for Wellspring. “We have seen evidence of the SNAP cuts and know that the upcoming Medicaid changes will affect a large percentage of the neighbors we serve. Our move from Rupert to Rainelle makes us accessible to more community members as well, meaning that our numbers served, especially for food distribution, are only going to continue to increase. Food costs rising impacts food pantries too of course, and our food purchasing budget has needed to increase dramatically over the past year. At the same time, our Day Haven laundry and shower services have caught on in Rainelle and we are seeing some exciting partnerships unfolding with our healthcare advocacy programming.”

“This donation from the Giants ensures that we will continue to play the role we have served in the Meadow River Valley community for over 20 years,” Reynolds said.

Last but certainly not least, they also invited young people who live at the the Greenbrier Valley Children’s Home to come and meet the players after practice one day. “Thank you to the Giants for creating such special memories and bringing so many smiles to our residents,” the children’s home posted online later that day. 

Giant sightings across the Greenbrier Valley 

The Giants haven’t just trained and stayed in their rooms, though; they’ve explored the Greenbrier Valley. Locals report seeing them walking through Marlinton in Pocahontas County, shopping at the Lewisburg Walmart, and even taking the whole team to the movie theatre in Lewisburg to watch Spider Man: A Brand New Day. 

Huffman says that follows a long line of athletes engaging the community when staying at The Greenbrier. 

“It’s wonderful to have locals interact with the players. If you go into Cook’s Country Kitchen (in Hart’s Run) today, you can see some chairs that Saints players autographed during a visit. My son has come home excited over the years because he has run into players at Food Lion. I vividly remember the Saints coming into town just months after the flood in 2016 and volunteering their time and efforts to help rebuild the park at Villa Park. It’s amazing to have an NFL organization in Greenbrier County, knowing that you might walk down the street any day and see a Hall of Famer. How many towns can say that?”

Kara Dense, President of Experience Greenbrier Valley, told RealWV that the impact of the training camp runs deep. “It is a pleasure to welcome the team, its fans and the many visitors who come to watch the practices. Those visitors contribute to our local economy by staying overnight, dining in our restaurants, shopping, purchasing gas and exploring area attractions.”

“The public relations value is also significant,” added Dense. “When national media outlets such as Sports Illustrated report from White Sulphur Springs and share images of the training facility surrounded by our beautiful green hills, they showcase the Greenbrier Valley to audiences across the country.”

“We are grateful to The Greenbrier for bringing this opportunity to our region and helping highlight the Greenbrier Valley as an exceptional place to visit, live and do business.”

Will they return? 

It remains to be seen. A local security guard told me as I left practice on Friday, “I sure hope so. They have been very good to us, paid us an excellent wage.” 

Abby DeGraff is hopeful for another opportunity in the future as well. “I didn’t realize how many moving parts there are to keep a team running. It is a bit dizzying, in the best way.”

Which is probably how the players feel about the NFL season they are about to embark upon–dizzying, in the best way possible. According to ESPN rankings, they face the 17th toughest schedule in the league as members of the historically-competitive NFC East division. 

But they will head back to the Big Apple to begin the season with something they haven’t had before: a whole herd of mountaineers cheering them on, “Go Big Blue!”