RAMS DECIDE ON TEMPORARY PRACTICE FACILITY; SEMO STILL IN RUNNING FOR SUMMER CAMP

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The St. Louis Rams ended a long search for a temporary practice facility Tuesday, choosing the Mathews-Dickey Boys' Club on the city's north side.

Steve Ortmayer, Rams vice president of football operations, said the team will move its administrative offices into Mathews-Dickey in mid-June and the players will begin using the facilities in August.

The Rams have yet to name a site for their training camp this summer. They have been negotiating with Washington University, but also have considered Southeast Missouri State, Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois universities.

Training camp begins July 16, with veterans due to report July 20.

Ortmayer said that in exchange for allowing the Rams to use the club, Mathews-Dickey will receive a "significant" grant to support its work.

The club started with 30 boys in 1960 and has grown to an annual membership of 40,000 boys and girls who participate in activities ranging from sports to the performing arts to educational activities.

The Rams said they will also sponsor the club's football program for four years, will offer football clinics and speakers for Mathews-Dickey functions and will provide tickets for club members to attend Rams games.

FANS, Inc., the civic organization that wooed the Rams to St. Louis, will underwrite the cost of temporarily housing the organization's youth programs at other facilities and making improvements to the football field at the club.

Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr., who represented FANS, Inc. at a news conference, said he was delighted that the Rams made a commitment to the city by locating their temporary training site here.

"This club is an invaluable resource to area youngsters, and it's going to be an even stronger facility through its association with the Rams," Bosley said.

"One of our goals is to get involved in the community," said Ortmayer, "so this is a tremendous opportunity both for a first-rate training site and to develop a partnership with Mathews-Dickey."