The Bengals wrapped their first training camp in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday in front of just over 2,000. Cincinnati Bengals' officials said they plan to return next to downtown next year. 

Call it a win. Nobody could have guaranteed as much when camp opened 16 practices ago.

More than four months of planning involving all corners of the Bengals front office were needed to pull off the first-time event in the shadows of the city skyline. Overall, 29,360 passed through Paul Brown Stadium and the adjacent practice fields.

The number nearly equaled the most well-attended training camp in the 15-year span at Georgetown, Ky. In 2010, 29,448 made the hour-and-a-half trek south to see the T.Ocho Show.

No local fans needed an extra tank of gas. The medical staff could work with their own equipment. The IT department didn't need to relocate and reconfigure their system. The coaches could work at the offices they call home. The marketing department could co-promote dates with Reds games.

And the fan experience was better.

“Really (happy) with how well the practice fields worked out,” said Bob Bendinghaus, director of business development. “The concessions and souvenirs. It is a very up-close experience, maybe more so than Georgetown. The experience in the stadium was comparable to Georgetown.”

As for what the players thought of practicing within shouting distance of their homes provides an easy answer. 

“I could take my naps (at home),” WR A.J. Green said, then giving a knowing laugh when asked if he enjoyed this camp experience. “Oh yeah, definitely. Much better than Georgetown.”

Finding a negative review of the first downtown camp might be tough. Consider the city of Hamilton County, long an opponent of the Bengals and their favorable stadium lease, was able to collect the parking fees, as well as food and beverage revenue to the burgeoning Banks area. The move even took small steps toward bridging the contentious relationship between the two sides. Small steps -- but steps.

The first-run of this show went off without a major hitch, according to Bendinghaus, although they did leave with ideas to improve the camp next season. There will likely be fewer practices in the stadium with the idea they'll bring bigger crowds.

The Bengals hope to improve the timing with the dates to produce Reds-Bengals doubleheader. Too much time inbetween kept the dual attendance relatively minimal the first four attempts. Yet, in Sunday's final day when the Reds ended nearly the same time the Bengals began, more baseball fans flowed into PBS than at any of the previous practices.

Pushing the practices out of the heat of the day will also likely be done. Running live-action 11-on-11 at 3 p.m. in the dead of August didn't go over well with Marvin Lewis and his staff.

Maybe not having training camp in isolation will turn out to be a good thing. 

“But maybe you don't need training-camp mentality,” he said. “Maybe you need rest and relaxation and study time and everything that way, which is good.”

Influencing Lewis' preparation philosophy? That's when you know the downtown-camp project was a success. 

Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter at @CBSSportsNFLCIN.