DETROIT (WWJ) — The 2024 NFL Draft in Downtown Detroit got rave reviews from visiting fans and locals alike, as hundreds of thousands of fans got a chance to take in not only the NFL Draft Experience, but everything else city has to offer.
And the massive crowds paid big dividends for the city and region. With a record 775,000 fans from all 50 states in attendance over the three-day event, the draft generated a $213.6 million economic impact for the city and surrounding region.
That includes more than $160 million from visitors who came to Southeast Michigan, according to the final numbers released Thursday by Visit Detroit and the Detroit Sports Commission.
That spending from visitors “has a long-term economic impact resulting in new income for local households, businesses, and tax revenues,” officials said in a press release detailing a comprehensive study developed by Dr. Patrick Rishe, director of the Sports Business Program at Washington University in St. Louis.
The study analyzed spending levels by both visiting fans and locals, as well as the NFL. The study highlighted “significant benefits to local minority businesses and defined the local regional economy as the Detroit region of Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties.”
Visit Detroit CEO Claude Molinari told WWJ’s Jeremy Otto organizers of the event only invested $14 million to make the draft happen.
“And to invest $14 million to make $213 million, any investor would say, ‘I’d make that bet every day,’” Molinari said. “And certainly, the even better part is that $160 million of that $200 million is from outside of Southeast Michigan, and that’s really, for us, the most important part.”
The final number on the draft’s economic impact is “better than we thought,” Molinari said.
Molinari also said the impact on the city’s reputation goes beyond those who visited Detroit, as more than 50 million people “watched Detroit shine on national television, which will be critical for Michigan’s long-term population and economic growth.”
Other highlights of the economic impact report include:
• $161.3 million of the $213.6 overall amount in gross economic impact represents new spending within the Detroit region created by the presence of the 2024 NFL Draft.
• $106.4 million of the $161.3 million in gross economic impact is being retained long-term within the Detroit region as new income for households, business proprietors, and tax revenues.
• The $106.4 million represents gross impact on local income, accounting for any money leakages shortly after new money enters the local economy. The overall fiscal/tax impact stemming from visitor spending is $12.3 million.
• 30.2% of all attendees traveled more than 100 miles to attend the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.
• The NFL’s total spend on local minority-owned businesses was $12.1 million. The Michigan Black Business Alliance (MBBA), Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), Visit Detroit and Detroit Sports Commission helped Black-owned businesses secured 34 contracts to work directly with the NFL, totaling nearly 40% of local contracts.
• The Detroit Sports Commission’s Living Legacy Initiative helped distribute $1.5 million dollars in grants to local non-profit organizations.
• Fans from all 50 U.S. states and more than 20 countries attended the 2024 NFL Draft.
• A fan from Australia traveled more than 11,000 miles to attend the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit.
• Hotel occupancy in the city of Detroit during the Draft: Wednesday, April 24-84%; Thursday, April 25-92%; Friday, April-26: 85%; Saturday, April 27-74%
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