RICHMOND, Va. – The opening week of Redskins Training Camp has been fairly uneventful, which is exactly what most teams want in terms of the action on the field. The only major injury prior to Thursday had been to cornerback Brashaud Breeland, but even he looks to be back sooner than originally anticipated.
But on the sidelines, things are quiet as well. That’s more disconcerting for both the team and the City of Richmond, who are merely in the third year of their partnership to host the annual preseason in Virginia’s capital.
The team has cleared 5,000 in announced attendance just three of the six days of camp leading into Thursday, for an average of 4,528 fans. While the Richmond Flying Squirrels have been in town at the same time, outdrawing Skins Camp by an average of nearly 2,000 fans per day (6,446), the team was also in town last year for part of Training Camp.
Of the 14 times the two teams have both been in town on the same day in the past two years, the Redskins had outdrawn the Squirrels all but once, reports the Richmond Times-Dispatch. This year, the trend has been the complete opposite.
Impressively, the Squirrels have actually drawn more than 700 above their season average since the Redskins arrived, up nearly 15 percent.
While the crowds looked notably larger Thursday morning, the Texans aren’t nearly the draw that The New England Patriots are. Last year, Patriots fans streamed in by the thousand to see the eventual Super Bowl Champions, as Redskins camp drew an average of 20,761 over the four days the team visited Richmond.
In contrast, Texans gear was sparse, with only a couple handfuls of navy and red hats, jerseys and T-shirts. Even a pair of young women holding a sign reading “Turn down for Watt,” were sporting Redskins gear.
Most fans who spoke with WTOP traveled in from outside the area, from everywhere from the D.C. area to Virginia Beach. All said that Thursday was their first day at camp this year.
The surrounding businesses, particularly the three food trucks who have partnered with the team, have been forced to adjust. Despite the setup fee being just 20 percent of what it was last year, the trucks have not been able to generate the kind of business they had hoped for. Two of them have moved outside the gates, while the third has dropped out entirely, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch raised concerns prior to the beginning of camp regarding the team’s ability to meet its financial commitment to the city under the structure of the deal that was struck three years ago. There are only 13 days of camp open to the public this year, down from 15 last season. Without a substantial rise in attendance in Week 2, those questions will only get louder.
