DETROIT (WXYZ) — Come Sunday, all eyes will be on the Detroit Lions as they take on the Los Angeles Rams at Ford Field.
For many people, this isn’t just a game — it’s an opportunity to show the world what Detroit is made of.
“It’s a tremendous weekend. The excitement is palpable. Everybody is wandering around exciting about the Lions and what’s happening,” Visit Detroit President and CEO Claude Molinari said.
Molinari says this is a huge weekend for the city as people from all over the country are coming to Detroit for the game.
“Every Lions game gives a huge impact as far as boosting tourism and hotels. We’re filling up hotels, having these major events in the city drives economic impact — puts people to work, high paying skilled labor jobs all across the city and all across the region is huge for us,” Molinari said.
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Just a few months ago, more than 700 people flooded downtown Detroit for the NFL Draft.
“No doubt when we talk about the NFL draft, my dreams were exceeded by the reality,” Molinari said. “Things went so spectacular, I mean, to have the largest attendance in the history in the NFL Draft by far. Our third day was better than anybody else’s first day.”
Between the draft and the Lions doing so well last season, Molinari says people got a chance to see Detroit in a positive light and he hopes that continues.
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“The perception of our city has changed so dramatically. Every time we host one of these games, a national TV audience tomorrow is going to be showing this game and they’re showing drone shots of the city and drone displays of the city. They’re going to be like wow, what a city and this is a great place, and I think that’s what the draft did and that’s what these games are doing.”
7 News Detroit caught up with a couple from Austin, Texas, who was visiting Detroit for the first time on Friday. We asked them about their first impressions of the city.
“It’s nice, yeah. It’s very modernized, I guess, surprisingly so,” David Wells said.
Sarah Wells added, “It seems really wonderful, it seems safe, it seems clean, and we’re having a great time. Amazing weather, so perfect football weather. So, we’re really excited about it.”
As for Molinari, he wants to continue to show people it’s not the same old Lions or the same old Detroit.
“Sometimes when you catch that perfect wave, you just have to ride it out,” Molinari said. “And I’m so excited about where we’re at and where we’re going just as a city. And even though it shouldn’t matter how successful your NFL team is, but it does.”
