Lions owner Sheila Hamp sends thank you letter to team's season-ticket holders

Allen Park — Despite her ever-present attendance around the team, we don't often hear from Detroit Lions owner Sheila Hamp. She sat down for a brief interview with Fox 2 ahead of this season, and prior to that, she held an impromptu, four-minute session with local reporters in Oct. 2022, to offer public backing for coach Dan Campbell and general manager Brad Holmes after the team got off to a rocky, 1-6 start to that season.

Despite having every reason to celebrate her decision to stick with the team's football leadership, and the success of the 2023 season, Hamp made a concerted effort to stay out of the spotlight. But on Monday, she made her voice heard in a letter to Lions' season-ticket holders.

Hamp opened the letter with an expression of gratitude to the team's fans, noting she was overwhelmed by the team's year-long support on the road, in particular, the NFC Championship game against San Francisco.

She then transitioned to bigger-picture reflections.

"When I stepped into this role three years ago, I had a vision for sustained success," Hamp wrote. "The success of this season is what that vision looked like. Now, we must go about making late January football a constant in Detroit. With the help of Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell, who we hand selected for this mission, the future for the Detroit Lions has never looked brighter. I said in January of ’21 that we had found the right people to lead this organization and I believe it even more today.

"The harsh reality of success is that you don’t necessarily see the end coming, and it hits you hard when it arrives," Hamp continued. "We are living that now, but please don’t let that dampen the excitement we felt and the success we earned. Only one team gets to celebrate at the end of the year and our goal is to put ourselves in a position for that to be our celebration."

Hamp closed the note with another round of thank yous for the fan base.

"Please accept a personal thank you from myself and my family for supporting us throughout this season," she wrote. "Thank you for wearing your Lions colors proudly at work, at school, at Ford Field, and in 10 other NFL stadiums. Without you at our games, at watch parties or watching in your living room, nothing we do matters. This league has always been about players and fans, and I am so proud of the players and fans that represent the Lions.

"Training camp starts in about 175 days, and I can’t wait."

jdrogers@detroitnews.com

@Justin_Rogers