Detroit's convention and visitors bureau has been booking the city's next act, and the calendar it has built now runs well past next spring. The NCAA Men's Final Four comes to Ford Field on April 3 and 5, 2027, the first time since 2009. Sixteen days later, on April 21, 2027, Michigan Central Station hosts the first star ceremony for the new Michelin Guide edition covering Detroit and the Great Lakes. More than 1,600 new downtown hotel rooms open the same year at the JW Marriott Detroit Water Square, The Detroit EDITION and the NoMad Hotel. And in June 2028, Huntington Place hosts IPW, the leading international inbound travel trade show.
Visit Detroit put the whole run in one line at its April outlook meeting: after the $213.6 million impact of the 2024 NFL Draft, Detroit is officially on the clock. The bureau is neither a branch of any government nor a charitable foundation. Its money comes from a 3 percent assessment on hotels and motels with 35 or more rooms in the three counties. The rate rose from 2 percent on July 1, 2025, and the added revenue goes to marketing the destination.
The last full year it has reported is the one the Draft built. More than 19 million people visited the region in 2024, and hotel revenue crossed the $1 billion mark. The Draft alone drew over 775,000 fans and generated over $213 million in total spending. The bureau's convention sales team generated 1,285 lead opportunities for its industry partners and booked 196,111 room nights, beating its annual goal. The stated target now is 25 million visitors a year by 2030.
The Final Four is the centerpiece. Michigan State University is the host institution, the Detroit Sports Commission led the bid with the city, Ford Field and the Lions, and the games fall on a Saturday and a Monday. The last time the title game was played here, in 2009, the crowd was 72,922. Ticket applications for the 2027 games ran through the end of May, with a $25 fee and up to four tickets per applicant.
The rooms are the part the city has been missing. Beyond the 1,600 opening in 2027, a new 600-room hotel will be built on the block bounded by Cass, Fort, Congress and Washington as the second hotel connected to Huntington Place, with site preparation expected to begin in early 2027. Visit Detroit's president and CEO, Claude Molinari, said the hotel puts Huntington Place in a prime position to secure even more industry-leading meetings, conventions and large-scale events.
IPW is the one most Detroiters have never heard of. From June 10 to 14, 2028, it brings about 1,600 buyers, more than 700 travel media representatives and more than 5,000 travel professionals from more than 60 countries to Huntington Place for more than 90,000 appointments.
The Detroit Sports Commission turned 25 this year, and its list keeps going: the 2028 Big Ten women's tournament, an NCAA regional that March, the U.S. Women's Amateur in 2029, the U.S. Women's Open in 2031 and the U.S. Open in 2034. Strait will be at the first of them in April.
