The NFL draft has a new attendance record after more than 700,000 fans flooded downtown Detroit for the three-day event.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer broke the news at Campus Martius Park during the third and final day of the draft, which consists of selections in the fourth through seventh rounds.
“It has been a historic week here in the great city of Detroit,” Whitmer said Saturday. “We have shown the world what the Motor City is all about.”
While it will take years to know if this year’s picks delivered for their teams, there’s no doubt that Detroit made the most of an opportunity to host hundreds of thousands of fans and show 50-plus million viewers the new-look city.
Motown beat Music City’s three-day attendance record of 600,000 set in 2019, when fans filled Broadway in Nashville.
Detroit drew a record 275,000 people on Thursday for the first round and had 550,000 fans through the second round, breaking Day 1 and 2 attendance records set in Nashville five years ago as part of the league’s decade-long tour around the country.
The NFL did not charge fans to attend the event in Detroit, although visitors and area residents were expected to generate more than $160 million in economic impact at sold-out hotels, packed bars and restaurants, as well as retail stores in the heart of downtown.
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