STAR FILE PHOTO Rams fans watch the team scrimmage against the Cowboys during training camp last August at Oxnard's River Ridge fields. The team is moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles and plans to hold its spring workouts in Oxnard this year.

By Rhiannon Potkey of the Ventura County Star

It's official. The NFL is returning to California Lutheran University.

CLU has entered into an agreement with the Los Angeles Rams to allow the team to base its in-season training operations at the university's Thousand Oaks campus for at least the next two years.

"Everyone at Cal Lutheran and the city of Thousand Oaks was so accommodating and made it really easy for us in this process," said Kevin Demoff, Los Angeles Rams chief operating officer and executive vice president. "It is a great site and their willingness to help us achieve our needs for a temporary practice facility and home for our players was a difference maker."

The Rams will pay to have two grass practice fields, a paved parking lot and temporary modular buildings installed on the northwest corner of CLU's campus.

The Rams will use the area as they wait for a permanent training facility to be built. The deal is for two years with an option to renew for a year at a time up to five years.

The facility at Cal Lutheran will be the home base for about 130 players, coaches, trainers and other Rams staff members. Regular-season practices will be held on campus from September through January, beginning this year.

The practices are not open to the public.

The team's offseason activities will also be based at CLU from March through July starting in 2017.

Cal Lutheran has a history of hosting NFL teams. The Dallas Cowboys held training camp there from 1963-89.

"We are thrilled to be a part of the return of the Rams to Los Angeles and the return of the NFL to CLU," university President Chris Kimball said. "Historically, I really like the connection. The city grew up with the Cowboys being here and that is what put Thousand Oaks on the map. Now with football coming back to Southern California, having us a part of that is a big deal for us."

The Rams will be holding this season's Organized Team Activities and minicamp at the River Ridge fields in Oxnard.

The football staff is moving into the Oxnard venue this week and players are scheduled to arrive April 18.

The site for the team's summer training camp has yet to be announced, although UC Irvine has been reported as the likely location.

"Nothing has been finalized, but Orange County is a leading candidate," Demoff said. "Our goal is to make this a regional team and cover as much territory as we can to be everywhere for everybody."

The city of Thousand Oaks has approved the construction of the fields and the parking lot for the temporary facility as part of CLU's master plan. The Rams will give the facilities to CLU once they depart.

According to the plans submitted by the Rams, the two modular buildings will be constructed out of five modular units of varying size produced by a company in Fontana.

One building will house offices and meeting rooms for Rams head coach Jeff Fisher and his staff as well as general manger Les Snead and his scouts. The plans include spaces labeled "Draft" and "Nerds Nest."

Another building includes player and staff locker rooms, an equipment room, a weight room, training and therapy spaces, a doctor's office and a space designated for media operations.

The parking lot is big enough for about 200 parking spaces.

The grass field and parking lot will remain at CLU permanently once the team leaves while the modular buildings will be taken down.

"The biggest part of their investment is putting in the infrastructure out to the fields like water, sewer and electrical," Kimball said. "We have been looking forward to developing the North Campus for possibly track and field and the infrastructure is a big part of the expenditures. If those are in place, it will make it much easier for us to fill out our master plan later on."

The Rams also plan to be actively involved with the campus community while their operations are based on campus, according to Kimball. They will provide students with internships, visit classes and help with fundraising.

"The positives of this deal outweigh any negatives that could happen," Kimball said. "In any kind of relationship, there is the potential for negatives. We wouldn't want anything to disrupt the neighborhood or campus, and I don't think it will. But in terms of their investment of the facilities they are putting in and willingness to be involved in the campus community, it's a positive. And obviously the visibility of having an NFL team on campus with prospective students is good for us, too."

CLU was one of a few locations throughout Southern California the Rams considered for their in-season training base.

The Rams organization, led by owner Stan Kroenke, preferred a college campus because having the infrastructure in place would expedite the moving process.

"Stan wanted everything done in a first-class manner and wanted to find a partner who could help deliver on Stan's vision," Demoff said. "This isn't just a temporary practice facility. This will be our home for the next few years and a place where we can really set up base to move forward from there."

Demoff said Ventura County remains in play for the team's permanent training facility.

"We haven't gotten that far, but we are looking for 50 to 70 acres of land and our search encompasses all of Los Angeles County and some of the surrounding counties as well," Demoff said. "Obviously if our group likes the area and likes being a part of the community, it probably would give it an advantage over other sites."

Although the deal has been reached with CLU, actual construction of the fields and facilities is still pending.

"It's dependent on city approval, but the city manager has assured us it will happen. I just don't know on what time line," Kimball said. "But once the city approves it, I think the Rams are ready to go right away with what they need to do."

Staff reporter Joe Curley contributed to this report.