When the NFL took its college draft on the road a decade ago, its first stops were Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas, three of the league’s largest markets.
The concept was an immediate success, transforming a show that had been staged in Manhattan hotels and theaters for half a century into a free, three-day soccer festival that attracted hundreds of thousands of fans, many of whom had to travel long distances.
Soon, more than a dozen cities came forward to host the event. Unlike the NFL’s main event, the Super Bowl, the draft does not require extensive public subsidies, hotels and security. It also takes place in late April when the weather is less problematic, 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 will continue to do so in the future.
Detroit hosted the Super Bowl in 2006 as a reward to the Lions for moving to a new stadium. But city officials believe the location of this year’s proposal, which begins Thursday, will provide an economic boost, although it’s unclear how big that will be. They also hope the three days on television will bring the city closer to fans who might not otherwise visit. Detroit, they say, is no longer the Detroit it was a decade ago, when the city was bankrupt, tens of thousands of homes had been abandoned and the auto industry was emerging from a long slump. Since then, new hotels, shops and residents have flocked to the city center; unemployment has fallen; and the city’s debt has returned to investment grade levels.
“We have a chance to reacquaint ourselves with America,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in an interview. “The last time this country paid attention to us was ten years ago when we were bankrupt. We haven’t had something of this magnitude in a long time. We just want to welcome America and give our visitors a good experience.”
The design as a movable festival arose partly out of necessity. Radio City Music Hall, which has hosted nine consecutive drafts since 2006, had a scheduling conflict in 2015, prompting the NFL to move the event to Chicago. The draft, which fans watched on television and where the best college players took the stage as their names were called, took place in a theater on Michigan Avenue. The real surprise happened across the street at Grant Park, where 200,000 fans from across the region attended what amounted to a pop-up NFL theme park.
The mix of team colors and family-friendly atmosphere was a proof of concept for the NFL, which initiated a process for other cities to apply to host the event. Teams and civic leaders in their markets raised their hands, viewing the event as a sort of soccer Woodstock that draws large crowds. In 2016, Lions president Rod Wood began lobbying the league to bring the draft to Detroit. The next year, the Lions and the Detroit Sports Commission applied, but were passed over because the draft was spread to cities like Nashville and Las Vegas. In 2022, Detroit was finally tapped to host that year’s event.
Like other cities, Detroit worked with the NFL to find a site that met the league’s security and transportation requirements. The NFL chose Campus Martius Park downtown and a four-block stretch of Woodward Avenue that leads to the Detroit River as the stage and fan zone. To encourage businesses outside of this close-knit area, the Downtown Detroit Partnership set up fan-viewing sites in nearby parks. Block associations in the Corktown, Greektown and Eastern Market neighborhoods host their own viewing parties.
Bob Roberts, the president of the Corktown Business Association, runs McShane’s, an area sports bar. He said he expects to triple his normal sales during the draft. Visitors, he said, can check out a local artisan market and the Detroit Police Athletic League down the street, where the NFL hosts youth activities. The association will provide shuttles to nearby parking and the downtown design site.
“This will be a huge win,” Roberts said. “We expect to be busy from opening to closing.”
The Michigan Black Business Alliance used the bill to persuade small, minority-owned businesses to sign up to work at major events. Britney Hoskins, who runs Top Pic Collective, which rents chairs, tables and other furniture, said the NFL chose her company after she was certified to outfit VIP rooms, a beer tent and other areas. Having the league on her resume, she said, is validation that she hopes it will help her land more contracts after the draft leaves town.
“We’ve never been in the room before,” Hoskins said. “We’re on the radar of all these major events now, so for me the impact is long-lasting.”
Cities and tourism offices often emphasize the economic benefits of hosting major events like the Draft. The Kansas City Sports Commission, for example, said the event brought in $164 million last year. However, most sports economists reject these estimates because they only serve to help authorities justify using taxpayer money to host events for nonprofits like the NFL. Estimates often do not take into account expenses such as police overtime, road closures, etc. Funds raised by host committees from sponsors and local businesses.
Jordan Kobritz, who teaches sports management at the State University of New York at Cortland and has owned and managed minor league baseball teams, is skeptical of the predictions but said publicity for the event could be positive, even if it is ultimately intangible .
“Ultimately there is a benefit because one thing that is very hard to analyze is the publicity that the community gets for it,” he said. “Look at where Detroit is. Whether true or not, the public perception is that the city center is a disaster area. They hope all this positive advertising will help attract people who want to live or do business there.”
Detroit hasn’t provided any estimates of the potential boon, in part because no one is sure how many people will come from where. Detroit is a five-hour drive from six NFL markets and is directly across the Detroit River from 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. But weather and other factors may affect whether fans travel from out of town.
“That’s the thing: How many people are going to show up if it’s not necessarily a ticketed event?” said Dave Beachnau, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission.
After the draft ends, a celebratory football will travel to Muskegon, Michigan; Board the Lake Express ferry. cross Lake Michigan to Milwaukee; and then further north to the site of next year’s draft, Green Bay, the smallest but unique NFL market.
“I have a feeling people will be making the pilgrimage next spring,” said Gabrielle Dow, vice president of marketing for the Green Bay Packers. “You can see your favorite team picks and check the box to see Lambeau Field. Here you kill two birds with one stone.”
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2024-04-25 07:00:16
www.nytimes.com
