The Bengals close their training camp Sunday with a 4 p.m. practice inside Paul Brown Stadium. Gates open at 2 p.m. with free and unlimited seating and autographs to follow.
The session caps the first training camp ever at the team's home base and head coach Marvin Lewis is happy with the logistics. Buoyed by the full power of the facility's technology and training components, Lewis says it came together smoothly after 15 seasons in Georgetown, Ky., on the campus of Georgetown College.
"It's gone excellently. I think everybody upstairs feels very, very good about it," Lewis said in a Friday news conference. "Hopefully the fans and everyone else that have experienced it feel just as good about it. There are some things we've learned from and been able to do a little better as we move forward and make it a little more comfortable.
"From the players' standpoint, they feel good about it, and there are some things we can to do help improve their atmosphere. As I've said a couple of times in here, I think the people at the stadium, from the grounds crew and Aramark (food service), and the people in marketing and so forth, have done an excellent job in providing a great environment here."
DE ADDED: In an effort to ease the load at defensive end for Thursday night's third preseason game of the year against the Packers at PBS (7 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12), the Bengals on Saturday signed rookie Luke Black of Fairmont State in West Virginia to his first NFL deal. The 6-6, 288-pound Black, a native of Marietta, Ohio, had 20 sacks in four seasons as a starter. Left end Carlos Dunlap (knee) is out three more weeks and the other left end, Robert Geathers (knee scope), has yet to practice.
The Bengals now have 85 players and have to be down to 75 by Aug. 27.
