What to Expect After the Draft
Come back anytime!
The City of Detroit really showed out for the NFL Draft and the reward for putting on such an amazing events was hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions of dollars in economic value. As we come off the high, let’s take a look at how the City will change, or not, in the days and weeks following the end of the draft.
What’s Staying?
Bars and Restaurants. For many restaurants, there was a mad dash to open in time for the draft. If you had a great experience at any of these new spots, definitely go back. If you had a less than stellar experience, try again when there’s not 700k people downtown because it may have been a bit of a rough weekend for some places. New bars like Side Hustle, Easy Peasy, and Gilly’s opened just in time to service the crowd this past weekend and may pull back some hours over the next few weeks while they get on track with the normal crowds. Hopefully these places got a nice bump from the Draft crowd that will help them out in the first couple months as they get going.
Murals and Art. A lot of places around town got some new color or murals painted in time for the draft. Luckily, these won’t be going anywhere and will be around for years to come (a small amount of items will be auctioned off). Detroit is really setting itself up to be a premier destination to find large and colorful murals, art pieces, and unique designs. There’s been a bit of controversy over what artists get selected to do these pieces, and the City should make a better effort to find local talent. However, the stuff that has been done is still incredible looking and should make the City a more beautiful place for years to come.
The sign. Long live the sign. The Detroit sign on I-94 was the topic of conversations over the last month, and while the talks may die down, the sign will continue greeting Detroiter’s and vistors alike for the foreseeable future. If you haven’t gotten chance to drive by the Detroit sign at night and see it lit up, reserve judgment. It looks quite nice as you drive along the highway and enter the city, just don’t get caught gawking and cause a back up.
Transit and Infrastructure. There were some real notable improvements to way finding around the People Mover Stations, along with new screens and displays. All the time and money that went into new signs, landscaping, lighting, and more will likely stick around for a while. I expect a lot of these things will stay for their useful life but are unlikely to be repaired or replaced once that time has run out, so enjoy them while they last.
What’s Leaving?
Much of the chaos that accompanied the Draft will fade away over the next few weeks. The stage will come down, the streets will open back up to cars, buses, and the QLine, and almost all of the staging and installations inside the draft footprint will go. The plan is for all the streets to be back to normal by May 7th, so we’ll see a bit of disruption for at least another week or so, but the tear down should go much faster than the set up.
Pop Up Shops. There were a number of retailers, mostly clothes and apparel, that had pop ups around the draft area. Unfortunately, most of these are not here to stay, as far as I know. Klutch Athletics by New Balance, which popped up in Capital Park, Luxury Locker Room in the Element Hotel, and Born in Detroit on Woodward in the former MooseJaw space, were all temporary for the draft and will be closing up shop here soon. It’s possible that they enjoyed their time so much they’ll find a permanent space, Born in Detroit would probably be the best bet, but I’m not holding my breath.
Visitors. It was said that the draft broke records with over 775,000 people attending over the three days, with likely tens of thousands more in the surrounding area. While Detroit won’t see this level of visitors often, there’s a chance we get some return customers who have only now realized what a great city Detroit is. Another thing that will go along with this is the end of most of the bus shuttles that serviced people over the last few days. Though hopefully locals and visitors alike got a good impression of what decent transit could offer.
What Needs to Come Back.
Pedestrian Woodward. For the entire draft, Woodward was closed from Campus Martius to Grand Circus Park. This was done outside the actual draft enclosure, but allowed visitors to shop, eat, and drink up and down Woodward. It gave people plenty of room, allowed shops and restaurants to set up on the sidewalks, and kept car noise out. This concept needs to come back on a regular basis, or at least for other large events like the Grand Prix or Fireworks. I’d be shocked if any business along Woodward saw it as a negative, and theirs really no reason to be driving on that stretch of Woodward during a busy event or Saturday night. The one logistics thing the city would need to figure out is transit, as to having QLine or bus access to that area was a definite downside.
Activated Parks. I’ve always thought there could be more done with parks like Harmonie Park, Grand Circus, and Capitol Park. Capitol Park is probably the most active of the three, but still lacks amenities and events (though improvements may be coming according to the upcoming Historic District Commission meeting). These parks have the bone to host people on a more regular basis, with live music, food, and drinks. Placing screens in the parks for people to watch the draft brings an interesting idea of putting screens for other sporting events (we did see a screen for opening day in Grand Circus Park, but it was short lived). Giving an outdoor place for people to congregate, watch a game or listen to a band would be great to bring more people downtown who are looking for a cheaper night out.
Social Disitricts. I think there needs to be a place for this in both of the ideas above. Allowing people to have drinks outside or walk around in a controlled area allows move movement, as people don’t have to sit at a bar, and would likely help other businesses. I don’t think this necessarily needs to be an all the time thing, although I wouldn’t be completely against it, but if you’re going to bring people downtown for events and close down areas, it makes sense to allow some open alcohol in public spaces.
More Events. Detroit can do it, we’ve shown it. Let’s get some more big time events downtown!