The NFL draft began Thursday night in Detroit to wide acclaim, and is expected to have a large impact on the city both financially and, officials hope, perceptually.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan (D-MI) said the sports event was a chance to “reintroduce ourselves to America,” and the city is slated to absorb between $150-200 million in funds from the three-day event.
The 2022 and 2023 NFL draft produced $ 164.3 million and about $ 125 million for Kansas City and Dallas, respectively. But Detroit officials believe that the NFL draft could have a significant future impact on the city.
Christopher Moyer, spokesman for Visit Detroit, told the Detroit News he’s optimistic about the event.
"Of course, this is not just about three days in April," Moyer said. "The success of this event will help accelerate Detroit and Michigan’s growth for the next 30 years. Success this week will help us attract more visitors, events, and billions of dollars in investment.”
The city itself is also investing a significant sum into the event, at least $3.2 million, with some of that going to traffic signal improvements and into the draft itself, with preparations like murals and certifying vendors for the event.
Jordan Kobritz, a sports management professor at SUNY Cortland who has also owned and operated minor league baseball teams, told the New York Times before the draft he was skeptical of the financial projections, but thought the positive publicity from the event could help.
“Look at where Detroit is." he said. "True or not, there is a public perception that downtown is a disaster area. They’re hoping that all this positive publicity will help attract people who want to live there or do business there.”
Michigan lawmakers have come out in force to ensure the city gets its publicity dues.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) posted on X about his support for the city, emphasizing union workers’ labor on the event.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) along with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI), Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Duggan showed up to the first night of the event, posing for a picture together, all wearing some form of Detroit Lions gear.
“The last time this country paid any attention to us was 10 years ago when we were in bankruptcy,” Duggan, who's on his third terms as Detroit mayor, told the New York Times. “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.”
The 2013 Chapter 9 bankruptcy was the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in United States history as the city was in debt $18 billion, and needed a solution to resolve their financial situation.
Since then, the city has managed its debt problem and repeatedly issued budgets without deficits in the succeeding years.
The city has earned its way into clearing a previously murky reputation, one that former President Donald Trump promoted by saying in 2020 that living in Detroit, among other cities, is like “living in hell.”
Detroit had the third-highest murder rate in the nation in 2022, but there’s evidence it could be a waning trend as the city recorded its lowest number of homicides since 1966 in 2023.
“We are seeing record drops in gun violence in Detroit because every single part of the criminal justice system is getting past Covid obstacles and is now working again,” Duggan said in a December statement. “I have never seen such a high level of cooperation.”
There was uncertainty about how many people would show up to the event with the city relatively far from other major football markets, but it was quickly dissuaded.
Attendance for the event in Detroit looked impressive. Around 275,000 people attended the first night of the draft, which saw the local Lions take University of Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, breaking the NFL draft attendee record. Police officials say the turnout was even higher for total fans visiting the city, estimated at about 400,000.
The draft is on pace to break the 600,000 three-day attendance record set at the 2019 Nashville NFL draft. Though, the massive crowds has brought some chaos, including long lines and swarms of people.
Detroit police presence has been heavy at the event, with no officer given a day off during the three-day sports extravaganza.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Police will continue their work with the draft continuing in rounds 4-7 on Saturday.
Regardless of whether the 2024 NFL draft boosts Detroit with further success in the future or not, it will certainly hold the city in the spotlight for the coming days, and officials hope that an inkling of that could be there to stay.
"This draft is important because you can't explain what's going on in Detroit, you’ve got to experience it and everybody who experiences it goes back and tells their friends,” Duggan said.
Most Popular
Comments / 0