(WXYZ) — The Detroit Tigers are stepping out onto the Comerica Park field for the first time this season, and tens of thousands of fans will flock to Downtown Detroit for Opening Day.
Many of those fans will fill surrounding businesses, eating, drinking and cheering on the team. Opening Day is a huge day for both sales and for workers. Last year, around 200,000 fans came to downtown Detroit.
At Mootz Pizzeria, which is about a 5-minute walk from the ballpark, Evenas Manager Quinn Walters is preparing.
"We do extra staffing. We all prepare. We get together day-of, go over what our gameplan is," he said.
"It’s kind of a national holiday down here. From my understanding, about 300-400,000 people come down here," Hudson Cafe Owner Tom Teknos said.
Daniel Hubbard, a waiter at The Hudson Cafe, added that "it's nonstop."
Alyssa Cazoneri, the manager at Presley's Kitchen and Bar, said they open at 7 a.m.. By 7:30 a.m. last year, their buffet-style brunch had already made over $2,000 in sales.
"Honestly, it’s intense. They’re triple from what a normal Friday would be," Cazoneri said.
At The Hudson Cafe, Teknos said that they get about 600 people and reservations filled up an hour after they went live.
"The environment is electric on opening day. You can just feel it as soon as you walk in the door," Hubbard said.
According to the Downtown Detroit Partnership, close to 130,000 people came Downtown in 2024, and last year, that number skyrocketed to an estimated 200,000. Comerica Park's capacity is just over 40,000, which means only a fraction are actually going to the game.
"I’m still trying to convince my wife and family to come down here just to go to a place like this. We don’t have tickets, but to enjoy downtown Detroit," Tigers fan Kane Tarchalski said.
Many businesses are doing special deals and events on Opening Day. You can learn more at our event guide
