Commanders' Ron Rivera: 'Incredible' to See Nearly 10,000 Fans at Practice After Sale

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera called it "truly incredible" to see an estimated 10,000 fans attend Saturday's training camp practice "in light of the past three seasons."

It was the highest attendance at Commanders practice in at least a decade, per ESPN's John Keim, and it happened on one of the hottest days of the year.

"To see them come out in force today, that was excellent," Rivera told reporters after practice. "Our players really appreciate it. I know our ownership appreciates the renewed interest."

Rivera grabbed a microphone to share a similar message with the fans present at Saturday's practice.

"It's a big deal to have you folks back here. It means a lot," Rivera told the crowd. "Being out here, our guys seeing it, it brings energy. It brings a lot of energy. And again, we need that going forward, we need you guys to keep being here."

At least 3,000 fans were watching Commanders practices on Thursday and Friday, higher attendance than was recorded at any practice last summer, Keim reported.

The surge in attendance, sparked by Dan Snyder's long-awaited sale of the team, is encouraging news for a franchise ranked last in the NFL in attendance by drawing an average crowd of 58,000 spectators last season.

The Commanders' front office will hope the preseason enthusiasm leads to the team's once-enormous fan base returning to FedExField. It was 11 years ago now that Washington was packing 80,000 people in each weekend to watch Robert Griffin III's rookie campaign.