NFL closes gates to Draft Experience as event reaches capacity before start of first round

DETROIT (WWJ) — The NFL has shut down general admission to the NFL Draft Experience, as the fan festival event reached its capacity.

With reportedly more than 150,000 people inside the gates of the event, officials made the decision to close the gates around 6:30 p.m., about an hour and a half before the Chicago Bears were set to make the first pick.

In an alert on the NFL OnePass app, league officials said "GENERAL ADMISSION ENTRY HAS BEEN PAUSED AT THIS TIME."

Fans were encouraged to visit other viewing parties across Downtown Detroit, including Draft Day in the D events and in Greektown.

Officials with the NFL and city of Detroit had been telling fans for more than two weeks to plan on getting to Downtown Detroit extra early in order to get inside.

The Draft Experience began filling up around noon Thursday, with thousands of jersey-wearing fans packing the streets of Detroit, from Campus Martius to Hart Plaza and everywhere in between.

Aerial shots show an absolute mass of humanity near the NFL Draft Theater, where the picks will be announced for Thursday night’s first round and through the final pick Saturday afternoon.

While fans are being turned away from the Draft Experience, there’s still plenty of ways for fans to experience the draft, with screens and speakers placed at Draft Day in the D parties in multiple parks — including Grand Circus Park, Capitol Park and others — as well as in Greektown, Corktown and other neighborhoods.