Ten years ago, when the NFL conducted its college draft, its first stops were Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas, three of the league's biggest markets.
The concept was an instant hit, transforming the show, which had been shuttered in Manhattan hotels and theaters for half a century, into a free three-day football festival that drew hundreds of thousands of fans, many of whom drove long distances. I participated.
Soon, more than a dozen cities signed up to host the event. Unlike the Super Bowl, the NFL's marquee event, the draft does not require large public subsidies, hotels or security. It is also held in late April, when there is less worry about the weather even in cities with harsh winters. This has allowed the NFL to award the draft to Cleveland, Kansas City, Missouri and other cities that have never hosted a Super Bowl and may never host one in recent years.
Detroit hosted the Super Bowl in 2006 as a reward for the Lions moving to a new stadium. But while city officials hope hosting this year's draft, which begins Thursday, will provide an economic stimulus, it's unclear how much. They also hope his three-day exposure on TV will introduce the city to fans who might not otherwise visit. Detroit, they say, is not the Detroit it was 10 years ago, when the city was in bankruptcy, tens of thousands of homes were abandoned and the auto industry was emerging from a long slump. Since then, new hotels, businesses, and residents have flooded downtown. The unemployment rate has fallen. And the city's debt returned to investment grade.
“We have a chance to reintroduce America,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in an interview. “The last time this country paid any attention to us was 10 years ago when we were in bankruptcy. There hasn't been anything this big in a long time. We want to provide a good experience.”
The draft as a traveling feast began partly out of necessity. Radio City Music Hall hosted nine consecutive draft meetings starting in 2006, but due to scheduling conflicts in 2015, the NFL moved the venue to Chicago. The draft, which fans watched on television, took place in a theater on Michigan Avenue, with the top college players taking the stage when their names were called. The real surprise was right across the street at Grant Park, where he drew 200,000 fans from all over the area, the equivalent of an NFL pop-up theme park.
The combination of team colors and family-friendly atmosphere served as a proof of concept for the NFL and spawned a process for other cities to apply to host the event. Marquette teams and civic leaders stepped up and equated the event with a well-attended Woodstock of football. In 2016, Lions president Rod Wood began lobbying the league to bring the draft to Detroit. The Lions and the Detroit Sports Commission applied the following year, but the draft was held up as the draft moved to cities such as Nashville and Las Vegas. Detroit has finally been chosen to host his 2022 event of the year.
Like other cities, Detroit worked with the NFL to find a location that would meet the league's requirements on issues such as security and transportation. The NFL selected downtown's Campus Martius Park and a four-block area of Woodward Avenue leading to the Detroit River for the stage and fan zone. To encourage business outside of its small footprint, the Downtown Detroit Partnership created a fan viewing area in a nearby park. Corktown, Greektown and Eastern Market district block associations will host their own viewing parties.
Bob Roberts, president of the Corktown Business Association, owns McShane's, a sports bar in the area. He expects sales during the draft period to be three times what they normally are, he said. He said tourists can visit the local artisan market and the Detroit Police Athletic League down the street, where the NFL hosts youth activities. The association will provide shuttle buses to nearby parking lots and the downtown draft site.
“It's going to be a big shock to the arm,” Roberts said. “We expect the store to be crowded from opening to closing.”
The Michigan Black Business Alliance used the draft to persuade small, minority-owned businesses to register to participate in the larger event. Brittney Hoskins, who runs Top Pick Collective, which rents chairs, tables and other furniture, said that after she was certified, the NFL chose her company to outfit VIP rooms, beer tents and other areas. That's what he said. She said having the league on her resume is proof that she hopes it will help her get other business after the draft leaves.
“We've never been in this room before,” Hoskins said. “We're looking at all these big events right now, so for me the impact is long-lasting.”
Cities and tourism boards often tout the economic benefits of hosting large-scale events like the draft. The Kansas City Sports Commission, for example, announced that the event generated $164 million last year. But most sports economists dismiss these estimates as conveniently crafted by government agencies seeking to justify taxpayer dollars being used to host events for for-profit organizations like the NFL. There is. These estimates often do not take into account costs such as police overtime, road closures, and transit closures. Funds raised by the host committee from sponsors and local businesses.
Jordan Koblitz, 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 this prediction, even if it is ultimately intangible. , said the publicity effect from the event could be positive.
“What's really hard to analyze is the publicity that comes from the community spreading it, so it's ultimately beneficial,” he said. “Look where Detroit is. There's a public perception, whether true or not, that downtown is a disaster area. They think all this positive publicity makes people want to live there or do business there. We hope it helps attract people.”
The City of Detroit has not made an estimate of the potential benefits. One reason is that no one knows how many people will come and where. Detroit is within a five-hour drive of her six NFL markets, and Canada is just across the Detroit River. Officials hope the recent success of the local Lions and the University of Michigan football team, which won the national championship this year, will increase local attendance. However, weather and other factors could affect whether fans arrive from out of town.
“That's the question: How many people will show up if it's not necessarily a ticketed event?” said Dave Beachnow, executive director of the Detroit Sports Commission.
After the draft, Ceremony Football will move to Muskegon, Michigan. Ride the Lake Express Ferry. Cross Lake Michigan to Milwaukee. Then head north to Green Bay, the site of next year's draft. This is the smallest but unique NFL market.
Gabriel Dow, vice president of marketing for the Green Bay Packers, said that next spring “we have a feeling that people will be making the pilgrimage.” “You can see your favorite team's picks and check the box to see Lambeau field. You can kill two birds with one stone here.”