DETROIT– DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft has a new attendance record after more than 700,000 fans flooded downtown Detroit for the three-day event.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer broke the news at Campus Martius Park during the third and final day of the draft, which consists of selections from the fourth to seventh rounds.
“It’s been a historic week here in the great city of Detroit,” Whitmer said Saturday. “We showed the world what Motor City is all about.”
While it will take years to know whether this year’s picks were a good fit for their teams, there is no doubt that Detroit made the most of the opportunity to host hundreds of thousands of fans and show more than 50 million viewers the city’s new look.
Motown beat Music City’s three-day attendance record of 600,000 set in 2019 when fans packed Broadway in Nashville.
Detroit drew a record 275,000 people on Thursday for the first round and had 550,000 fans in the second round, breaking the Days 1 and 2 attendance records set in Nashville five years ago as part of the Detroit’s decade-long tour. league across the country.
The NFL did not charge fans to attend the event in Detroit, even though area visitors and residents were expected to generate more than $160 million in economic impact at packed hotels, crowded bars and restaurants, as well as retail stores in the heartland. of the city center.
Former Lions running back Billy Sims was taking advantage of barbecue sales at his restaurant under a sidewalk tent along Woodward Avenue on Saturday.
“The fans have been great and business has been good,” said Sims, who was drafted by Detroit with the No. 1 overall pick in 1980. “Having the draft here is great for the entire state of Michigan.”
The NFL is involved in negotiations with more than 20 teams interested in hosting a future draft, which is of particular interest in cities with colder climates that are unlikely to win a Super Bowl bid.
Green Bay will host the 2025 draft.
This year’s edition kicked off with a kickoff right in Detroit on Thursday night, which included rap icon Eminem on stage with Hall of Famers Barry Sanders and Calvin Johnson, along with current Lions stars Jared Goff, Aidan Hutchinson and Amon-Ra St.
The Chicago Bears, as expected, drafted Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams first overall. They faced Iowa punter Tory Taylor on Saturday in the fourth round.
“Hey, you’re not going to bet too much here,” Taylor said Williams wrote to him in a text message.
___
APNFL:
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
