700,000 and counting: Detroit sets 3-day NFL Draft attendance record

Detroit, you did it.

On Day 3 of the NFL Draft on Saturday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced on the draft stage that the 2024 NFL Draft had officially set the three-day attendance record for the event. Seven hundred thousand people and counting made their way down to the Motor City to take part in the week’s festivities, breaking the record of 600,000 set by the city of Nashville in 2019.

Detroit smashed the single-day record on night one (Thursday) when 275,000 people packed into Campus Martius for the opening round and continued its exuberance into Friday night, where the total eclipsed 500,000. The draft was at-capacity each of the first two nights and was forced to turn people away.

“It has been a historic week here in the great city of Detroit,” Whitmer said. “We have shown the world what the Motor City is all about.”

In 2022, when NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell visited the city after Detroit was awarded the draft, he challenged Detroit to break the record.

“You have your challenge, Detroit,” Goodell said.

It appears Detroiters took that personally.

nbianchi@detroitnews.com

@nolanbianchi