NFL Draft 2024 could have economic impact in 'hundreds of millions' for Detroit

The head of Metro Detroit's convention bureau gave an enthusiastic forecast Thursday morning for the upcoming NFL Draft 2024, predicting the three-day April event could have an economic impact in the "hundreds of millions" for the region.

The NFL Draft 2024, which is scheduled to take places April 25-27, is the annual event where National Football League teams select college players to restock their rosters. The draft usually draws hundreds of thousands of fans who travel to the host city, which is in different location each year. Draft events are set to be held in various downtown Detroit locations, but there are community wide events planned, many of them free.

"There are six NFL cities within a four-hour drive of Detroit," said Claude Molinari, president and chief executive officer of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, during a panel discussion at the Detroit Regional Chamber's Detroit Policy Conference at the MotorCity Casino Hotel.

That will translate into "hundreds of thousands" of people coming to the Detroit area, Molinari said, who didn't give a more specific estimate.

"We're expecting an economic impact in the hundreds of millions," he added.

Molinari said Detroit's proximity to other NFL cities compared much more favorably than Kansas City, the site of the 2023 NFL draft. Molinari pointed out that Kansas City doesn't have any other NFL cities within a four-hour drive, he noted.

According to data from convention officials there, the NFL draft had an economic impact of $164.3 million on Kansas City, including $108.8 million in direct spending and $55.5 million in induced/indirect impact. Total attendance was around 312,000.

Molinari said Detroit's draft even should be able to draw more than 300,000 because it is easier for fans from cities such as Cleveland, Cincinnati and Chicago to get to.

laguilar@detroitnews.com