Detroit Evening Report: City of Detroit begins preparations to host NFL Draft in April
Road closures in the downtown area near Campus Martius and Hart Plaza will begin on Friday.
FILE - The onstage video screens display "The Pick Is In" for the Detroit Lions during the 2023 NFL Draft, Thursday, April 27, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo.
The city of Detroit has started preparations to welcome the NFL Draft as the host city in April.
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Starting Friday, traffic will be closed at sections of Randolph, Monroe, Farmer and Bates Streets near Campus Martius. A stage will be constructed in the area for the event as NFL teams select their picks on live TV April 25-27. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said draft events will be concentrated in the downtown area during a press conference on Tuesday.
“We chose a far more complicated approach because we think the long-term benefit to this city — three, four or 500,000 visitors see the streets of Detroit, walk the riverwalk that USA Today says is the best in the country — to have them experience that, we decided was worth it,” Duggan said.
Duggan hopes residents and workers in the downtown area are patient as road closures expand and the NFL Experience is built at Hart Plaza.
“Now, (in) a week or two we’re going to be closing down Jefferson because we’re going to be building out the NFL Experience down at Hart Plaza, and people who work down here are just going to have to be patient, but I know they’re looking forward to the excitement,” stated Duggan.
The 2024 NFL Draft will air locally on WXYZ Channel 7 and on the NFL Network, ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
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