NFL
This year's NFL Draft has “taken over” Detroit’s downtown and the league is ready to showcase the city after “planning the event for over a year,” according to Hannah Mackay of the DETROIT NEWS. This year's event is “expected to attract up to 400,000 people.” The NFL has been “working with local partners to showcase Detroit-inspired art and design, a lineup of Michigan musical performances, and local food and other vendors for fans over three days.” The event's three central venues are the Draft Theatre next to Campus Martius, the Fox Theatre and Hart Plaza. NFL Dir of Event Operations Steve Farago said that while the focus of the Draft "is football, it has become a major entertainment event." The main stage of the draft is located in the Draft Theatre, which “will hold over 1,500 people.” Farago expects fans from “nearby NFL franchise cities like Chicago and Pittsburgh, as well as those all over the country,” to converge in Detroit over the next few days. He said that gates will open to fans at noon CT Thursday and Friday, and 9am Saturday. Roughly “15 lucky inner circle guests, or die-hard fans,” of all 32 NFL clubs have been invited to watch the draft from the theater, with “Lions fans seated front and center.” Only invited guests “will be seated inside the Draft Theatre, but tens of thousands are expected to line up just outside and throughout Campus Martius to watch the draft and concert series.” Hart Plaza will host the immersive NFL draft experience for fans (
DETROIT NEWS, 4/24). In Detroit, Bob Wojnowski wrote you will “see Detroit as rarely viewed, by a captive national audience for three days,” starting tonight with the first round. Ambassadors for the city “are everywhere,” and “not just at the highest levels of celebrity-dom.” Rapper Eminem “is visible and valuable and authentically Detroit” (
DETROIT NEWS, 4/24).
DRAFT BUILDUP: SBJ's Ben Fischer reported the draft itself will occur in the densest part of downtown Detroit, giving it a look and feel more like Nashville in 2019 than drafts in more open spaces in recent years such as Cleveland (2021), Las Vegas (2022) and K.C. (2023). Lions President Rod Wood said, “It’ll be very memorable for being downtown, with some aspects of it that are very Detroit, including the skyline and the riverfront and proximity to Canada." Detroit’s relative proximity to other NFL markets -- Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh are all less than 300 miles away -- was a key selling point for the bid. While the Lions spearheaded the official league process, Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert personally lobbied NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for the draft, knowing his commercial real estate company, Bedrock, and its tenants in downtown, could gain considerably from the exposure. Along with his Rock family of companies, Gilbert said that General Motors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Roger Penske have contributed to the draft cause (
SPORTS BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/22 issue).
DETROIT SPOTLIGHT: In Detroit, Jeff Seidel wrote he “absolutely love that the NFL draft is coming to Detroit this week.” Seidel: “Detroit is going to be the center of the sports world for several days. There will be countless shots of the skyline and talk about grit and how the Detroit Lions and the city are perfect for each other.” He added the draft being in Detroit “is completely absurd and doesn't make any sense.” Seidel: “If you are a casual sports fan -- or not a sports fan at all -- you may be wondering, what is the fuss?” He wrote the draft has “become three days of entertainment and sports debate fodder” and is “completely ridiculous when you step back and look at the big picture.” Seidel: "The NFL knows how to squeeze every ounce of drama out of every situation, turning the sport into a year-round story that never stops producing content.” He added the NFL has taken the draft on the road since 2015, and it “has morphed into an elaborate reality TV show” (
DETROIT FREE PRESS, 4/23). In N.Y., Ken Belson writes Detroit city officials hope the three days of exposure on television “showcases the city to fans who might not otherwise visit.” Detroit, they say, is “not the Detroit of a decade ago, when the city was bankrupt, tens of thousands of homes had been abandoned and the automobile industry was pulling out of a long slump.” Mayor Mike Duggan said, “We have a chance to reintroduce ourselves to America. The last time this country paid any attention to us was 10 years ago when we were in bankruptcy. We haven’t had anything of this magnitude in a long time. We’re just looking to greet America and give our visitors a good experience” (
N.Y. TIMES, 4/25).
