More than 775,000 people crowded into the streets of downtown Detroit over the weekend, a record for NFL Draft attendance.
Some 34 million watched television coverage of the first night of the draft Thursday.
And, when all is said and done, officials are confident the economic impact on the city will easily exceed the pre-draft prediction of between $150 million and $175 million.
Put together, it was enough for Mayor Mike Duggan and other officials to take a victory lap at a post-draft press conference Monday morning.
“It is remarkable to read sports journals, business journals … talking about the recovery of the city,” Duggan said during his speech. “I feel like we are a 10-year overnight success, and the credit really belongs to the people who live in the city. We made an impression that’s going to last a long time, and Detroiters should be proud of the way we welcomed America.”
Visit Detroit CEO Claude Molinari said an analysis by sports economists won’t be ready until June, but he’s confident the amount will exceed the initial estimates.
“I think we’re going to go way beyond that,” said Molinari, who said he thought Detroit hotels may have had “their best week ever.”
According to Duggan, Detroiters made “a lasting impression” with the warm welcome they gave America last week. Duggan, who attended last year’s draft in Kansas City, said 2024 draft was unique because of the involvement of local businesses, which contributed to everything, including items such as food sales.
“We had 60 Detroit companies who were working here,” Duggan said. “This has been different than other NFL drafts. It was Detroit companies who did the work … I understand the NFL is now asking them to help future cities talk about how the local businesses benefit when the NFL comes to town.”
Downtown traffic is expected to return to normal by May 7.
Eric Larson, CEO of the Downtown Detroit Partnership, called the NFL Draft in Detroit “was “the ultimate team effort.”
“There are not enough superlatives to describe what happened in Detroit last weekend,” Larson said in a statement. “The 2024 NFL Draft … was an unprecedented success, and Downtown Detroit took center stage for three days and delivered in every category. The NFL Draft in Detroit was a testament to the power of community. The National Football League (NFL), Detroit Lions, City of Detroit, Detroit Police Department, Detroit Fire Department, Visit Detroit, Bedrock Detroit, and the stellar Downtown Detroit Partnership Team and Business Improvement Zone Ambassadors demonstrated leadership, vision, and meticulous attention to detail.”
Duggan said the city needed to “change our national reputation.”
“We very consciously built up a national narrative and shared all of that with the national media,” the mayor said. “I’m gonna say I was really pleased, and I think there’ll be a significant lasting effect.”
