Following the Super Bowl, the 2024 NFL Draft will take place in Detroit, as all eyes are on the city.
FOX 2 DETROIT – While excitement is building for Super Bowl LVIII, attention will soon shift to Detroit and the 2024 NFL Draft, which is less than 80 days away, as another season comes to an end.
“Right now, my heart is pounding. We are targeting April 25th,” stated Dave Beachnau. “Planning will amplify here very quickly, but we’ve got a good plan in place.”
This week, Beachnau is in Las Vegas working with a committee from Detroit to organize one of the biggest NFL showcases of the year. In addition, he serves as the Detroit Sports Commission’s executive director.
His group has been collaborating with the Detroit police, the mayor’s office, the Downtown Detroit Partnership, and the Lions to organize “a mini Super Bowl,” as Beachnau puts it.
The draft’s layout, which will run from Campus Martius Park to Hart Plaza, will be first shown to the planning committee later this week.
“When you think about the draft main stage theater, that’s going to be built around Campus Martius Park, there’s so many moving pieces to it from street closures to impact on the businesses,” he explained.
Fox 2: “When you tell people you’re from Detroit, what has been the conversation about the Lions, and about the city?”
“It seems that everyone that we’ve interacted with, were rooting for the Lions,” he stated.”The Dallas Cowboys are no longer America’s team, as I have stated a few times to many other individuals. The American team is the Detroit Lions.
“I think the Lions’ run, over the course of three playoff games — with a national broadcast of Detroit at the forefront, I think that only amplifies the opportunity and it brings more significance to the draft in Detroit.”
The planning committee is expected to remain in Las Vegas until Monday. However, the NCAA Men’s Regional Basketball Tournament games will be held at the Detroit Sports Commission prior to the draft happening.
