DETROIT – Downtown was excitedly buzzing ahead of the Detroit Lions home game against the Seattle Seahawks.
Among the sea of Honolulu blue was Tony Logue, a native Michigander who zigzagged his way out of Tampa, Florida, to watch the Lions play.
Hurricane Helene canceled his flight and delayed his travel, but he’s happy to have returned to Detroit.
“You can take the boy out of Detroit, but you can’t take Detroit out of the boy,” said Logue.
So many fans descended upon downtown Detroit, bringing their eagerness to celebrate and money to do so with them.
“It’s amazing what successful national football league tea will do to a city,” said Claude Molinari, CEO & President of Visit Detroit.
--> Detroit Lions break 6-game skid vs. Seahawks in high-scoring Monday Night Football track meet
Molinari says hotels see a 10% boost in occupancy each time the Lions play at home. During a night game, that number goes up to nearly 20%. But the boost to the local economy doesn’t end there.
“It matters for everything, restaurants, nightclubs, our retail that’s downtown people are wandering around buying up things downtown seeing Detroit in a new light,” said Catherine Kaigler.
Kaigler is a manager at Basement Burger Bar. She says the start of the NFL season and the Detroit Tigers’ advancement to the American League Wild Card Series means more customers looking to eat, drink, and celebrate.
--> Detroit Tigers host watch party at Comerica Park for game 1 of AL Wild Card Series
She says the increased traffic is “something we’ve really been looking forward to since after COVID,” adding things are looking up. “If things continue to go like this, it could be an amazing year for us!”
Molinari is optimistic that the Tigers and Lions will keep up the momentum.
“Hopefully, they’ll knock Houston out of the playoffs, and then we’ll have a bunch of home games, and then we’ll be back in the city, will be packed for when the Lions come back,” Molinari said.