Detroit also hopes to host the 2024 NFL Draft and its big festival
The difference is that instead of watching these screaming fanatics on TV on two or three channels, you’re actually in a crowd with these screaming fanatics.
The Detroit Lions and the City of Detroit are rumored to be finalists to host the 2024 “Experience” NFL Draft. Not only would the NFL Draft take place here in Michigan, but festival-like events surrounding the draft would happen here as well.
A little history first: the first NFL drafts were simply business meetings, where teams sent executives to meet and select the best players in college football for professional teams. (If you’re a “draft-nik”, you’d be shocked at how little preparation some teams did before this, with some even relying on annual magazines to sway their picks. (Of course, if you look at some teams now, you’d swear they’re doing the same thing.) When ESPN came along in late 1979, one of the first things they did was cover the NFL Draft live.
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A few years ago, the NFL, which never missed a chance to make money, took the event out of a New York City ballroom to cities across the country. The draft moved to Chicago for two years in 2015-16, then to Philadelphia, Dallas and Nashville. 2020 was virtual due to COVID, and last year it was in Cleveland, this year in Las Vegas, and next year in Kansas City.
Which brings us to 2024 and signals that it could be heading to the Motor City. According to numerous reports, including Sports Illustrated, the finalists for 2024 are Detroit, Green Bay and Washington, DC. Green Bay is a wonderful football experience, but it would definitely be fun to have it in Detroit too.
The draft experience is almost carnival-like, with things for kids to do, like throwing soccer balls and performing other athletic feats.
You have to understand that Detroit should be hosting an event like this soon, because Ford is a major football announcer, and although they own it too, the NFL likes to keep its advertisers happy. NFL owners will meet later in March and are expected to decide then.
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