Southern California's blue skies, cool ocean breezes and grass fields apparently are more appealing to Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett than the Alamodome's static, climate-controlled atmosphere and synthetic turf.

In a move that was not wholly unexpected, the team confirmed Thursday it is close to finalizing a three-year deal to hold training camp in Oxnard, just north of Los Angeles.

The Cowboys' five-year, rent-free deal with the Alamodome expired in August, allowing the club to explore other options.

According to a source with knowledge of the team's communications with San Antonio, Garrett and his staff prefer training in Oxnard, where the layout at the River Ridge facility allows the players to walk from their hotel rooms to the grass practice field. In San Antonio, the players bus between their downtown hotel and the dome.

“This was a pure football decision,” the source said. “The Cowboys had nothing bad to say about San Antonio. They like the crowds, they think the city staff is exceptional and sponsors love coming there. But the players don't like the (artificial) turf and (Garrett and his coaches) are saying, ‘In California, we can be outdoors in 75-degree weather. Guys can wake up, walk 20 yards and they are on grass fields. Plus, there are fewer distractions.'”

The deal with Oxnard, which was first reported in Thursday's Ventura County Star, includes an option for three additional years. Although the Cowboys plan to spend all of the 2012 camp in California, the team hasn't ruled out splitting future camps between Oxnard and San Antonio.

“We are disappointed the Dallas Cowboys will not return to San Antonio for training camp in 2012,” Michael Sawaya, director of the city's convention, sports and entertainment facilities, wrote in an email.

“We have a tremendous Cowboys fan base in our city and are extremely supportive of the team,” Sawaya added. “The city has had an outstanding relationship with Jerry Jones and his entire organization, and San Antonio is proud to have been their host in the Alamodome since 2002. As future training camp sites are determined, we look forward to another opportunity to host the Cowboys.”

In a story posted on DallasCowboys.com, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said, “San Antonio and Oxnard have provided absolutely outstanding settings for every single aspect of our training camps for the past 10 years. ... We are also exploring avenues to have a continued presence in San Antonio because it has always been a special home for the Dallas Cowboys. The support of the city and the fans in San Antonio are outstanding.”

Another possible factor in the move: The Cowboys were fearful the New Orleans Saints would take over Oxnard. The Saints trained there for a week last summer, and coach Sean Payton said he was interested in making the city an annual destination. Those facts pushed Jerry Jones to aggressively pursue a long-term deal, Michael Henderson, Oxnard's general services superintendent, believes.

“They didn't tell us that, but this is certainly the earliest that we had negotiations with the Cowboys regarding training camp,” Henderson said.

The deal, which is set to go before the Oxnard City Council on Tuesday, calls for the Cowboys to spend anywhere from two weeks to up to 40 days of their 2012, 2013 and 2014 training camps in Oxnard.

“From my perspective, that leaves it open to them having a split training camp (in 2013 and 2014),” Henderson said. “If they are going to be here for roughly two weeks, they'd have the ability go somewhere else.”

Since 2001, Oxnard has hosted at least part of the Cowboys' camp six times, including splitting 2010 camp with San Antonio.

The departure of the Cowboys is another blow to a city whose national sports profile has shrunk in recent years with San Antonio's exclusion from the men's and women's NCAA basketball championships for 2012-2016.

Although camp doesn't generate the robust economic impact of a major event like the Final Four, it provides cash for the Alamodome, the Grand Hyatt San Antonio and restaurants in downtown and the East Side.

According to an economic study done in the early 2000s, Cowboys camp generates $4.5 million in direct visitor spending. Numbers aren't available for this year's camp, but the city made $360,000 more than it spent on camp in 2010.

Attendance at camp this past summer was hurt by the lockout, but the camp drew 200,989 fans over two weeks in 2010.