When the NFL held its college draft a decade ago, its first stops were the league's three largest markets: Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas.
The concept was an immediate hit, turning a show that had been closed for half a century in Manhattan hotels and theaters into a free three-day football festival that attracted hundreds of thousands of fans, many of whom drove long distances to attend.
Soon more than a dozen cities had pitched in to host the event. Unlike the NFL's marquee event, the Super Bowl, the draft does not require extensive public subsidies, hotels and security. It is also held in late April, when there is no need to worry about the weather even in cities with harsh winters. This has allowed the NFL in recent years to award the draft to Cleveland, Kansas City, Missouri, and other cities that have never hosted a Super Bowl and may never again.
Detroit hosted the 2006 Super Bowl as compensation for the Lions moving to a new stadium. But city officials hope being the site of this year's draft, which begins Thursday, will provide an economic impact, though it's unclear how much. They also hope that the three days of television exposure will show the city to fans who might not otherwise be able to visit. They say Detroit is not the Detroit it was 10 years ago, when the city was bankrupt, tens of thousands of homes were abandoned and the auto industry was coming out of a long slump. Since then, new hotels, businesses and residents have flocked to downtown. Unemployment rate has fallen. And the city's debt returned to investment grade.
“We have an opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to America,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in an interview. “The last time this country showed interest in us was 10 years ago when we went bankrupt. We haven't had anything of this scale in a long time. We’re just trying to say hello to America and provide a great experience for our visitors.”
The draft as a portable feast arose partly out of necessity. Radio City Music Hall had hosted nine consecutive drafts since 2006, but scheduling conflicts forced the NFL to move the event to Chicago in 2015. The draft, which fans watched on television, was held in a theater on Michigan Avenue with top college players walking on stage as their names were called. The real surprise was across the street at Grant Park, where 200,000 fans from across the region attended in a pop-up NFL theme park format.
The mix of team colors and a family-friendly atmosphere proved the concept for the NFL, which created a process for other cities to apply to host the event. Each mayor's team and civic leaders raised their hands, seeing the event as a kind of football Woodstock that would draw many visitors. In 2016, Lions president Rod Wood began lobbying the league to bring the draft to Detroit. The following year, the Lions and the Detroit Sports Commission applied, but were passed over as the draft moved to cities such as Nashville and Las Vegas. Detroit has finally been selected to host this year's event in 2022.
Like other cities, Detroit has worked with the NFL to find a location that meets the league's requirements on issues such as security and transportation. The NFL selected a four-block section of Woodward Avenue leading to Campus Martius Park downtown and the Detroit River for the stage and fan zone. To drum up business outside of these tight spaces, the Downtown Detroit Partnership created fan viewing areas in nearby parks. Block associations in the Corktown, Greektown and Eastern Market areas host their own viewing parties.
Bob Roberts, president of the Corktown Business Association, owns McShane's, a sports bar in the area. He said he expects three times his usual sales during the draft. Visitors can visit a market for local artisans and the Detroit Police Athletic League, where the NFL hosts activities for young people, he said. The association will provide shuttles to nearby parking facilities and the downtown draft site.
“It’s going to be a huge blow to the arm,” Roberts said. “We expect it to be busy from opening until closing.”
The Michigan Black Business Alliance used the draft to persuade small, minority-owned businesses to register for large events. Brittany Hoskins, who runs Top Pic Collective, which rents chairs, tables and other furniture, said that after she became certified, the NFL chose her company to set up VIP rooms, beer tents and other spaces. Having the league on her resume is confirmation of her hopes that the draft will help her win other ventures after she leaves, she said.
“We’ve never been in that room before,” Hoskins said. “We’re using all of these large event radars now, so the impact is long-lasting.”
Cities and tourism boards often promote the economic benefits of hosting large-scale events like the draft. For example, the Kansas City Sports Commission said the event generated $164 million in revenue last year. But most sports economists dismiss these estimates as fabricated to suit institutions trying to justify using taxpayer funds to host events for for-profit organizations like the NFL. Funds raised by the hosting committee from sponsors and local businesses.
Jordan Kobritz, who teaches sports management at the State University of New York at Cortland and has owned and operated a minor league baseball team, is skeptical of the prospect, but said publicity from the event could be positive, even if it is ultimately intangible.
“There is a benefit in the end in that one of the things that is very difficult to analyze is being exposed to the community,” he said. “Look where Detroit is. True or not, there is a public perception that urban centers are disaster zones. “They’re hoping all this positive publicity will help attract people who want to live there or do business there.”
Detroit has not produced an estimate of the potential benefits because it is not sure how many people will show up and where. Detroit is a five-hour drive from six NFL markets and just across the Detroit River in Canada. Officials hope the recent success of the hometown Lions and the University of Michigan football team, which won the national championship this year, will boost local attendance. However, weather and other factors can affect whether fans arrive from outside the city.
“That’s the question: How many people are going to show up when it’s not necessarily a ticketed event?” said Dave Beachnau, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission.
After the draft, football games travel to Muskegon, Michigan. Take the Lake Express ferry. Cross Lake Michigan to Milwaukee. Then head north to Green Bay, site of next year's draft. It's the smallest NFL market, but it's a unique market.
“I feel like people are going to make a pilgrimage next spring,” said Gabrielle Dow, vice president of marketing for the Green Bay Packers. “You get to check the box to see your favorite team and see Lambeau Field,” she said. “Here, you can kill two birds with one stone.”