MOTOWN TAKES CENTER STAGE
Traffic delays, heavy parking charges abound
Football fans from all over the country descended on Detroit Thursday for the first day of the three-day NFL Draft, decked out in gear from their favorite teams and ready to take in a decked-out downtown.
Some drove, others flew to be part of the action, but Honolulu Blue was a dominant color in honor of the hometown Detroit Lions. Between 300,000 and 400,000 people are expected to visit Detroit for the draft, which officially starts Thursday evening at 8 p.m.
The Draft Theater requires a ticket but there are several free activities for fans, including the NFL Draft Experience at Hart Plaza and Campus Martius. Fans can pose with the Vince Lombari trophy, see Super Bowl rings and a collection of Lions jerseys from the past.
Deli sees ‘really steady’ business
Danny Zaghir, owner of Frank’s Deli inside the Buhl Building on Griswold near the draft entrance, said business on Thursday afternoon was “really steady.”
He put a chalkboard sign on Griswold to get new guests inside.
“We have had a lot new faces. We’ve had our regular customers, too, but most of them are working from home,” Zaghir said. “This weekend we are definitely relying on the people coming for the draft. And they haven’t disappointed.”
The New York style deli, which also sells grocery items, extended its hours to close at 11 p.m. for the big event.
“We doubled up on all of our food,” Zaghir said. “We try to be as low-cost as possible.”
Three teams, one bond
Fans from across the country flocked to downtown Detroit for
the draft event on Thursday.
Joe Walker, 43, of Scranton, Pennsylvania; Rich Aston, 52, of San Antonio, Texas; and David Johnson, 43, of Chicago, all drove hours to make it to opening day of the draft.
All three are supporting different teams, but were together enjoying Detroit and the draft festivities. They had no difficulties traveling into the city.
Johnson, a Bears fan, said “there’s hardly no traffic compared to Chicago.”
Walker’s cheering for the Dallas Cowboys and “hoping they pick the best player available.”
Aston, who drove 19 hours from Texas to hang out with his friends on draft day, wants his Pittsburgh Steelers to pick players for “some O-line help,” referring to the offensive line.
Food trucks get deluged
Orlando Washington, who runs the food truck BRO-rritos Burritos and Tacos, had a brief lull in customers streaming to and from from the Draft Experience on Thursday afternoon. He said he expected the crowd sizes downtown would be so large in the coming days “we’ll probably never see it again.”
“I’m just glad I can contribute and help feed the hungry (fans),” said the native Detroiter.
He figures it could easily be the best couple days of the year, sales-wise, for his truck.
”I think it’s just phenomenal. I mean, it’s like we’re nonstop already. We probably haven’t seen the worst yet … or the best,” Washington said, laughing.
Many food trucks like Washington’s already had long lines around the downtown draft zone Thursday afternoon. Restaurants and exclusive draft parties, many with their own security, also were rapidly filling with hours still to go before the Chicago Bears are scheduled to make the first pick after 8 p.m.
Pot, art merchants fight for fans
Marijuana companies weren’t missing their chance to advertise to the out-oftowners, sponsoring some of the parties — and advertising on billboard box trucks with big screens that were rolling around downtown, and on airplanes pulling banners overhead.
The company Leaf and Bud, which claims to be Detroit’s biggest dispensary, had both the ground and air covered with ads.
Other vendors were hawking everything from candy, to cheap sunglasses to wooden sculptures and other types of art imported from Senegal.
Mbaye Niang, who runs Niang African Art, usually positions his wares under a tent in Campus Martius Park. But that spot is overtaken with the draft stage area, so Niang shifted to the corner of Park and Woodward avenues to try his luck with the NFL fans, who were queuing to enter the draft party nearby.
Niang acknowledged there was a stark contrast between the typical customer interested in African art and the fans dressed in various colorful team jerseys. But he remained hopeful that many would have their interest piqued, perhaps as they headed for home or back to their hotels later in the day.
“I like the vibe that it brings,” said Niang, 42, who has lived in Detroit more than two decades, about the draft.
Still, he said it’s important that it’s not a one-off advertising event for the city. Longer-term investments need to be made, including in downtown, which Niang still noted has many empty buildings.
“Monday, Tuesday it’s going to go back to normal … when you take all these banners down, and all this, then we go back to normal,” Niang said. “So invest in the city first. Bring things, and in the people who work here, like the everyday Detroiters. You see what I’m saying? And then you can advertise all you want, and bring all the people back.”
He added: “Don’t just put up a big show and then tomorrow you close everything back up and … it’s a ghost town.”
Traffic crawling on I-94
Four hours before the draft’s start, hundreds of cars packed Interstate 94 and the Lodge Freeway leading into downtown. Two rear-end accidents were assisted by Michigan State Police. Those heading into the city should expect at least 45 minutes for traffic congestion on I-94.
Authorities were also monitoring traffic above I-94 at Cecil Avenue where cars slowed down to take photos and look at the new D-E-T-RO-I-T gateway sign.
Taking earlier exits like Warren, school-aged kids could be seen dressed in NFL gear, waiting for Detroit Department of Transportation buses at stops to get downtown. Traffic is dense, especially in the university district. In Midtown, there were no visible visitors in the museum district around 4 p.m.
Traffic on I-375 south leading into downtown was backed up at a dead stop for at least a half-mile at 4:30 p.m.
Sticker shock for parking
Big events usually mean jacked-up parking prices in Detroit, and Thursday was no exception.
Most parking lots in downtown are charging $100. One on Gratiot was charging $70.
‘So far, so good’
Anita’s Kitchen on Jefferson Avenue is having a “so far, so good” experience, General Manager Lauren Peterson said Thursday afternoon.
“We’ve had a lot of walkins, a lot of people eating before they go in. It’s been really steady, not like crazy wild. Everyone’s been pretty controlled,” Peterson said.
The restaurant is opening an outdoor patio food booth for fans Thursday-Saturday since it’s right by the entrance to the draft day events.
The fast-casual eatery with “an authentic Lebanese flair,” will have falafel, gyro pita, and shawarma sandwiches, fries and wings available at the patio from 3 p.m to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
Day trip to Detroit
Some Metro Detroiters drove downtown to embrace the unique experience of having the draft in the city.
Howell resident Dylan Matovski and his son Emerson, 12, took a day trip to Detroit. Matovski said that since the draft is in Detroit for the first time, he “just wanted to experience it” with his son.
“With the Lions being better now, it’s great to see the city enjoying that success and a lot of people coming out to just enjoy the nice weather and the experience,” he said.
Emerson, who plays on his local football team, said he might want to do the 40 yard-dash or the vertical jump in the NFL D, which are activities that draft visitors can partake in.
The Ramirez family, who are Chicago Bears fans, traveled to Detroit from Visalia, California, for the draft. The family had a layover in Dallas-Fort Worth Airport a few days ago, but they got stuck there because their flight to Detroit was canceled, said father Bosco Ramirez, 40. They spent a day and a half in Dallas, taking the opportunity to sightsee and try some Texas barbeque.
Ramirez’s mother, who lives in Saline, went with the family to the draft on Thursday. Ramirez said he’s “excited” about the draft. The Bears have the No. 1 pick, and he said the consensus is that the team will choose USC quarterback Caleb Williams.
“I mean it’s a great draft to go to if you’re a Bears fan, obviously,” he said. “We have two top 10 picks.”
Duggan welcomes fans, media
Speaking to reporters early Thursday afternoon, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said the people who are here “know this is a dramatically different city,”
“Everybody last summer who came to town for different conferences all said the same thing to me: ‘Oh my God, this wasn’t what I expected’ or ‘when did the riverfront get here?’ or ‘when did all these restaurants open up?’ This draft feels important because you can’t explain what’s going on in Detroit, you have to experience it.
“It’s all part of changing our image,” said Duggan, who has been invited by the Lions to announce one of their three Draft picks on Saturday. “Never thought I’d see the day I’d wake up and see two positive stories about Detroit in the New York Times. That hasn’t happened in my lifetime.
“This is what we hope for,” he said, “to reintroduce ourselves to the country.”
Fans line up for fan experience
Hundreds of people were lined up late Thursday morning at Entry 2 on Griswold to enter the NFL Fan Experience.
The crowd included many Lions fans, sporting Honolulu blue jerseys or other Lions merchandise. Fans of other teams were interspersed within the sea of Lions faithful, including people supporting the Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. And some represented the University of Michigan, wearing UM hats or sweatshirts, apparently in honor of potential draftees quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running Blake Corum, among others.
Rachael Clapper of Fowlerville, near Lansing, was waiting in line with her eight-year-old daughter, Macklynn. Clapper wore a blue and green sweatshirt, and Macklynn had on Seattle Seahawks-themed face paint. Clapper said Captain SeaHawk and Kam Hawk — who are well-known Seahawks fans — are in Detroit for the draft, so she and her daughter wanted to meet them. They also came to the draft for the “whole experience.”
“We’re missing football big time,” Clapper said, “so this is kind of aiding in that.”
They’re just here for the day, and she said the drive to Detroit “was fantastic.” They took U.S. 23 and M-14.