'Do it your way': NFL Commissioner orders up 'Detroit-style' Draft Day — with a side of snow

DETROIT (WWJ) - We're now less than 100 days before hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend in downtown Detroit for the 2024 NFL Draft — and league Commissioner Roger Goodell made his vision for the event very clear.

Goodell called on leadership and event organizers to instill their own unique flare that captures the spirit of the city when the NFL Draft comes to town April 25-27, 2024.

And he also hoped for snow.

That's right. Goodell wants a magical, Detroit-style Draft Day.

"I've been always seeking to try to have a Draft where it's also snowing at the same time," he said near the end of a "Fireside Chat" at Ford Field on Wednesday morning. "That would be a cool moment, right? It's happened in April before!"

But the snow would only add to the city's story of rebirth through the hard work and passion of the people who transformed the community, Goodell explained.

Now, millions of people will be able to experience the essence of Detroit firsthand come April.

"The number one thing for us is to try to tell you, 'do it your way,'" The commissioner said. "We want you to do it, Detroit style, right? We want you to show what Detroit fans, the passion and the community and the downtown -- if that's where the location is -- and let people understand what Detroit is all about."

Goodell estimated the 2024 Draft Day would reach roughly 60 or 70 million people over the three days, providing a major opportunity for to Detroit to shine on the world stage.

"This is going to be where everyone's going to see the people and the places that make this community special and that to me is the beauty of it," he continued. "And so to me, my encouragement to all of the leadership and the people who are organizing this and there are so many that do an extraordinary job is to do it your way and I'm sure it will be a great success."

The NFL commissioner later revisited this statement, adding "You show off this community the way it deserves to the year point. What you've done in this community is amazing. I've been coming here for decades. You see what you've done physically in the downtown area, but it's really as much about the way you've come together in the public and the private sector and you've you've rallied around this community and I think people in the world should see it and you're gonna have that opportunity."

"So if everyone sees what Detroit really is and the passion of the people in this community, that will be a successful draft," he concluded.

The NFL Draft will run April 25-27, 2024 with the "footprint" will including Hart Plaza, Woodward Avenue, Campus Martius, Cadillac Square, Monroe Street and the Midway area.

Hart Plaza is getting a multimillion dollar restoration of the fountain and the grounds.

Visit Detroit President and CEO Claude Molinari said in an earlier press conference that he thinks Detroit could see more people at the Draft than any other city that has hosted since it began traveling to different cities.

Roughly 300,000 people attended the Draft in Kansas City, WWJ's Jon Hewitt reported.

The hear the NFL Commissioner's full comments, visit here.