Downtown Detroit prepares for massive crowds on Lions game day
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Fans packed downtown in April for the NFL draft. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Downtown is preparing for crowds on the level of Tigers Opening Day for the Lions' season opener at Ford Field on Sunday night.
The big picture: After reaching last year's NFC Championship Game and beefing up the roster with key offseason moves, the Lions now have (gulp) Super Bowl expectations.
Between the lines: Sunday's forecast is sunny with highs in the 70s and kickoff isn't until 8:20pm. As a result, fans are expected downtown all day visiting bars and restaurants and tailgating.
What they're saying: "This could potentially be one of the biggest Lions tailgating days of all time," Visit Detroit spokesperson Chris Moyer tells Axios Detroit, adding that a couple hundred thousand visitors are expected downtown, similar to the crowds for the Tigers' Opening Day.
- "Sunday, fun-day — that's what it's going to be for sure."
Zoom in: Vehicle tailgating tickets at Eastern Market, the city's foremost tailgating venue, are sold out. Some hotels are experiencing higher-than-usual occupancy rates.
- The Cambria Hotel, for example, has sold about 50% of its Sunday night rooms — about twice what it sells on a typical Sunday, sales manager Tamika Nixon tells Axios.
- Greektown's Atheneum Hotel, which is within walking distance of Ford Field, is at about 85% capacity, says executive Athina Papas.
State of play: Sunday's game is a rematch of last season's playoff victory against the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford.
- NBC is broadcasting the game nationally on "Sunday Night Football," the network's weekly NFL spotlight.
- Detroit is favored by 3.5 points by oddsmakers.
Zoom out: The Lions have all the ingredients of an up-and-coming team ready to compete with the NFL's best.
- The roster has blue-chip talent on offense and defense and one of the league's best coaching staffs with Dan Campbell, offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.
💠Joe's thought bubble: I haven't been this excited for a Lions season since the mid-1990s teams with Barry Sanders, Herman Moore and Robert Porcher.
- High expectations typically spell doom for this franchise, but I don't see the same old Lions returning.
The bottom line: Downtown will be hopping all weekend — don't forget Dally in the Alley is on Saturday, too.