12:05 p.m.
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Bengals plan to train at least two more summers at Georgetown College after Tuesday's announcement that the Georgetown, Ky., school has agreed to a one-year extension of the team's training camp contract that now runs through 2006.
Head coach Marvin Lewis made the announcement at a luncheon sponsored by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce at the college's East Campus Athletic Complex, the site where the Bengals have trained since 1997.
"We're pleased to have extended this relationship for another year," Lewis said in a statement. "The facilities at Georgetown College are excellent for our purposes. They were designed with an NFL training camp in mind, and they remain state-of-the-art by league standards.
"Just as importantly," Lewis added, "the people who run the camp are professionals who afford us a warm welcome every year. We feel very much at home in Georgetown, because we know we are teaming up with friends who will work with us to address any and all issues that need attention."
With the growth of the Bengals' home facility at Paul Brown Stadium, there is speculation that this could be the final agreement between the sides and that the club would opt to stay in Cincinnati. Lewis has cut a week off last year's schedule, with the first practice set for July 29 and the last for Aug. 17.
But there was similar speculation at the 2003 camp, when they agreed to a two-year extension. Lewis said that officials from the Bengals and Georgetown College plan to meet annually in the spring to discuss future years of the agreement.
