The 2024 NFL Draft pulled 775,000 people to downtown Detroit

The 2024 NFL Draft ran across downtown Detroit from April 25 to 27 and drew about 775,000 people over three days, the largest crowd the event has ever recorded, according to the NFL. The league said the city passed the previous mark, Nashville's 600,000 in 2019, during the second day. The first round alone pulled roughly 275,000 people to Campus Martius and the blocks around it. The NFL charged no admission, and about 50 million people watched on television.

The festival footprint covered Campus Martius, Hart Plaza, and Cadillac Square. The main draft stage stood in Campus Martius, and the NFL Draft Experience spread across Hart Plaza. The Lions' front office worked the board hard, with general manager Brad Holmes trading up to take Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold at 24 overall.

Months later, the Detroit Sports Commission and Visit Detroit put a number on what the weekend returned to the region. An economic study they commissioned, led by Dr. Patrick Rishe of Washington University in St. Louis, estimated $213.6 million in total economic impact, including $161.3 million in new spending brought into Southeast Michigan and about $106.4 million projected to stay in the region long term as household income, business earnings, and tax revenue. Visitors came from all 50 states and more than 20 countries, the study found. Hotel occupancy downtown peaked at 92 percent on the Thursday of the draft.

"That spending went into the pockets of Detroit businesses and will help strengthen our community for years to come," Claude Molinari, president and chief executive of Visit Detroit, said in the commission's announcement.

The local contracting was deliberate. The same report tallied $12.1 million in NFL spending with local minority-owned businesses, and noted that Black-owned businesses landed 34 contracts to work directly with the league, close to 40 percent of all local contracts. The Detroit Sports Commission's Living Legacy Initiative distributed $1.5 million in grants to local nonprofits tied to the event.

The detail that set Detroit apart was the prayer halls. The NFL installed two of them, one at Hart Plaza and one at Campus Martius, and called it the first time the league had built prayer space at one of its tentpole events. The league framed the halls as a way to fold Detroit's diversity into the draft and to welcome fans of every faith. They were built by The Led Lion, an Arab American-owned firm based in the Dearborn area, with interiors designed by Amera Fattah of Suite Storees. Each ran about 200 square feet and held prayer rugs, washing stations, and shoe storage, and they opened during Muslim prayer times each day the draft was running. Metro Detroit is home to one of the largest Arab American communities in the country.

"We want to make sure that fans, or even people who don't know American football and are just getting introduced to it, that we have a place for them," Nicki Ewell, the NFL's senior director of events, said of the inclusive approach.

The league's community work ran wider than the festival grounds. NFL Green planted 5,180 trees across the area, 20 for each player drafted, with much of the work aimed at lower-income neighborhoods.

Detroit had spent years positioning for the bid, and the payoff held. The 2024 Draft remains the largest sporting attendance event the city has hosted. The next marquee turn comes in April 2027, when Ford Field hosts the NCAA Men's Final Four, the event's first return to Detroit since 2009.

Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza, downtown Detroit.