BY ZAC BOYER

ASHBURN

--The Washington Redskins will move their summer training camp to a location behind the Science Museum of Virginia in downtown Richmond for at least the next eight years, city officials announced Monday.

Two football fields, a fieldhouse complex and a public park were included in sketches of the Bon Secours Training Center, which were unveiled at a press conference held on the vacant 17-acre parcel owned by the state directly behind the museum on West Leigh Street.

It will be part of a development between the city and Bon Secours Richmond Health System, which will include a $40 million investment not only in the Redskins' summer headquarters but also in the development of health and wellness centers at two other locations in the city.

The Redskins will use the complex, estimated to cost $6.4 million, for approximately three weeks from late July and into mid-August. It will remain open for public use during the remainder of the year.

"The Washington Redskins and our fans are excited about the team's summer training camp move to Richmond," general manager Bruce Allen said in a statement released by the city. "We believe our Richmond training camp experience will become the model for all professional sports teams."

The team and the city announced in March that they had reached an agreement to move the training camp, which prepares the team for the upcoming season and is akin to baseball's spring training, to the state capital. The Redskins have held the program at their full-time Redskins Park complex in Loudoun County since 2003.

"I know we're excited about getting a final plan done and getting a chance to spend close to three weeks over there," head coach Mike Shanahan said.

The agreement included a $30 million renovation of Redskins Park, which was constructed in the early 1990s but is becoming outdated. The Redskins had been eyeing a move away from their full-time home during the summer as an attempt to build camaraderie among players and coaches.

Zac Boyer: 540/374-5440
Email: zboyer@freelancestar.com