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City of Detroit working on beautification projects ahead of April's 2024 NFL Draft

Posted at 5:18 PM, Feb 12, 2024
and last updated 2024-02-12 17:18:19-05

The Super Bowl is over and now all eyes are on Detroit with 73 days to go until the 2024 NFL Draft.

Mayor Mike Duggan said the city has been focused on preparing for the draft for the past year as he sees it as a chance to reintroduce Detroit to America.

With so much on the line, the mayor's office said they're going all out on beautification projects.

"We want to make sure the world sees how great Detroit is," said Jessica Parker, Deputy Chief Operations Officer for the Detroit Mayor's Office.

Parker said January was spent on sidewalk repairs and painting 600 flag poles.

Along the freeways, the city has planted hundreds of trees and shrubs.

They're now working on creating new signs to be installed directing people to the city and a main illuminated "Detroit" sign using 12-foot-tall letters that will be on I-94 Eastbound.

Parker said, "As visitors are coming in from the airport they’ll know they’re coming into the City of Detroit."

Once downtown visitors will see sculpted football cleats that Parker said will be scattered for selfie moments; "We’re going to do 20 cleats, oversized, they’ll be about 5 foot 3 and they’ll have murals on them done by local artists, the murals will celebrate Detroit, our history, our culture, the people that live here."

You'll start to see the cleats pop up downtown throughout April.

The NFL Draft will be April 25-27, it's a free event, and this is the first time it's ever been hosted in Detroit.