President Donald Trump made NFL history on Sunday when he became the first sitting U.S. president since 1978 to attend a regular-season game. He came out to the Washington Commanders‘ Week 10 clash with the Detroit Lions that ended in a 44-22 loss for the Commanders. But it wasn’t the performance that garnered national attention. More than this, the presence of President Donald Trump making his stance clear on $3.7 B stadium during the game stole the headlines.

Speaking in the broadcast booth with FOX commentators Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma, Trump used the time on national television to signal his involvement and support for the project. “By the way, they’re going to build a beautiful stadium,” Trump said.

”That’s what I’m involved in. We’re getting all the approvals and everything else. And you have a wonderful owner, Josh, and his group. And you’re going to see some very good thing.” His comments seemed to confirm earlier reports that the president had personally helped fast-track federal approvals for the Commanders’ return to the District of Columbia.

The almost $3.7 billion project will see the Commanders return to Washington, D.C., for the first time since 1997. The proposed new home for the team is set to rise from the historic grounds of RFK Stadium. As per the April deal, the Commanders will invest $2.7 billion, while the city will add another approximately $1.1 billion in development, which includes housing, park space, and a sports complex along the Anacostia River.

The crowd’s reaction to Trump was less than welcoming, however. When cameras spotted him during a halftime military swearing-in ceremony, the audience booed. Trump did not appear fazed.  “It’s a microcosm of life,” he told Albert.

“You have the triumph. You have the problems. You got to get through the problems to hit the triumphs. You can never quit. You can never give up.” Trump also reflected on his own days playing football at the New York Military Academy, ”I actually loved playing football,” he said.

Trump’s appearance at the Commanders-Lions game wasn’t his only high-profile outing to a sporting event this year. He also went to Super Bowl 59, the U.S. Open men’s final, and even the Ryder Cup. He is an avid sports fan, and an NFL devotee, particularly since he tried to buy the Buffalo Bills in 2014 and, while in office during his first term, frequently criticized the league over player protests during the national anthem.

But his tone has changed since he returned to the presidency.

Trump weighs in on name change of Commanders amid stadium plans

Even as Trump boasted of his role in advancing the stadium deal, his effort to pressure the Commanders to return to their previous name, the Redskins, remains a source of controversy. One day before the game, the White House press office, via spokesperson Karoline Leavitt, said it would be “beautiful” to name the new stadium after President Trump.

Leavitt claimed that ”would surely be a beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible,” fuelling speculation that Trump might tie his support to his preference for a name change. Trump had publicly threatened in July to stall the stadium deal unless the team dropped the “Commanders” moniker.

”The Washington “Whatever’s” should IMMEDIATELY change their name back to the Washington Redskins Football Team,” he wrote in a social media post. ”There is a big clamoring for this. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!!!”

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Demolition of RFK Stadium began in September, marking the official start of the team’s long-awaited return to D.C.

From skyscrapers and golf resorts to Bibles and cologne, Trump’s name has long been synonymous with ownership and self-promotion. If the president gets his way, the Commanders’ future home might one day carry the Trump name, a move that would make the project not just a sports landmark but also a political and cultural statement.

For now, though, Trump seems quite happy to bask in the limelight of being the first sitting president to attend an NFL regular-season game in nearly five decades, while making his mark on both the skyline and the identity of Washington’s football franchise.