ASHBURN — Sam Cosmi made the slow trek from the top of the Commanders’ facility down to the practice fields and he immediately noticed all the differences from just a year ago. How could he not? The Washington Commanders guard took in the installed section of bleachers that overlooked the sideline. He saw the other section of seats and stands designated for players’ families, located near the end zone.
And most of all, Cosmi heard the noise. Cheers from fans who roared for the players as they took to the field. There were spectators on hand during training camp last year, but this was different.
It’s almost as if …
“This looks like a professional football team,” Cosmi said.
Call it the Josh Harris effect.
Yes, the plans to install new seating for fans at training camp were put in motion well before Harris’ $6.05 billion purchase of the Commanders was approved by the NFL last week. But the changes were made in anticipation of a new regime taking over and the excitement that would generate.
In March, team President Jason Wright said he anticipated a “substantial boost” for the franchise once Dan Snyder sold the team. And since May — when Snyder and Harris entered into a signed agreement — that’s proven to be the case, with Thursday’s turnout being the latest example.
A team spokesperson said attendance for the weekday session was 3,000, outdrawing what the team averaged in 2019 when the Burgundy and Gold spent the first two weeks of training camp in Richmond. The Richmond sessions drew 34,000 over 12 practices, or an average of 2,833. The Commanders have already distributed 16,000 tickets for this Saturday’s session and are expecting a show rate of 50-60%, Wright said.
The bump extends far beyond free training camp tickets, however.
Wright, who announced at Harris’ introductory press conference that Week 1’s home opener against the Arizona Cardinals was nearly sold out, said the Commanders have added 3,500 new season ticket holders since May. He said total ticketing and suite revenue has already surpassed all of what the team sold in 2022, while over the last week, the Commanders are selling tickets and merchandise at a rate of eight-to-10 times higher than their normal daily average.
Wright said that there’s a “real excitement” in the market, adding that fans are “willing to be proud — and openly proud — about the team.”
“What people have wanted from us for a long time is for us to be human and approachable, relatable,” Wright told The Washington Times. “The NFL is a big, powerful brand. And if you’re not careful to show that you’re real people who operate with humility and care about the people who you’ve been stewarded to have as fans, or that we have the opportunity to steward as fans, then it can rub folks the wrong way because it’s such a powerful enterprise.”
Wright said that’s not a shot at Snyder — the executive’s former boss who often receded from the public view and alienated himself from the fanbase.
Wright said it’s meant as a complement to his new boss. Since buying the Commanders, Harris has repeatedly mentioned his Maryland roots and growing up as a fan of the franchise. And in his few appearances so far, Harris has interacted with fans. Before Thursday’s practice, Harris shook hands, posed for pictures and signed autographs down the fences of fans lined up near the bleachers. “All it takes is the simple gestures of Josh’s being authentically who he is,” Wright said.
A day earlier, Harris addressed the Commanders in a 10-minute meeting where players said the owner pledged to invest in whatever areas they needed to win. “It means a lot,” left tackle Charles Leno said. Asked about the new stands, defensive end Chase Young said that Harris “ain’t playing no games.”
Sean Kinslow, a 28-year-old fan from Ashburn, said he and other fans are excited “for the first time in a while.” For Washington’s home opener, Kinslow bought six tickets and texted eight of his friends asking who wanted to come. In the past, when Kinslow would buy a bloc of tickets and reach out, there would be a “muted” response. This year? He didn’t buy enough.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Kinslow said. “We’re excited.”
For many, Snyder’s departure served as an inspiration. Timmy and Amy Mawyer decided to become first-time season ticket holders in November, shortly after the team announced that Snyder hired an investment bank to explore sale. The married couple spent $3,000 for two tickets.
“I don’t think it really matters who was (buying the team) at that point,” said Timmy Mawyer, who wore a “Keep Calm and Hate Dallas” t-shirt. “We just knew the energy was already changing. And we’re still excited about what the future holds, especially after seeing what Josh Harris has done over the last few days.”
Despite the increase in season ticket sales, Wright said the Commanders are still “nowhere close” to selling the kind of volume the team did during its glory years — or even seasons like 2008, when Washington led the league in attendance. Last year, the Commanders ranked last in that category with an average of 58,106 fans per game.
But Wright said this year’s uptick is “substantial.” He notes the increase is a three-fold increase over the same May-to-July period last year. The executive added the sales will help “get back into the range of a healthy season ticket member base” by the end of the year, especially if the Commanders have a successful season.
Until then, though, Wright said he and his staff will monitor the crowds at training camp. The team scrapped the ticket lottery system it had in place last season for summer practices, with Wright admitting it wasn’t a “smart move to restrict tickets.”
Last year produced lower demand, he said, than the team hoped. And while Wright wouldn’t reveal attendance figures for last year’s camp, he laughed “That’s horrible!” when a team spokesperson showed him the number on a sheet of paper.
He expects it to change this year.
“Every opportunity we have to make an investment that shows that the fan we value them, we think is going to come back to us in the long run,” Wright said.
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