DETROIT (WWJ) - City officials are preparing for the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit this April and a series of beautification projects are on deck -- including the city's own version of Hollywood's famous sign.
According to the city's NFL Draft improvement plans, a 10-foot-tall "DETROIT" sign will be erected along eastbound I-94 between Wyoming and Central avenues.
A number of other smaller signs bearing the city's name will also be on display in other areas along local freeways, Jessica Parker, Detroit's deputy chief operations officer, told the Detroit Free Press.
"It's going to be like the Hollywood sign, but smaller," she said. "The letters will look like they are floating on beautiful greenery … and they will light up in Detroit's colors, green and white," Parker explained.
Parker said the city accepted a contract from Detroit-based Fairmount Sign Company after a bidding process in the fall, dedicating $400,000 in city funding to create the signage.
She said the company was a perfect fit as they "know Detroit."
"This company actually did the Fox Theatre sign and the Wayne State sign off of Woodward," Parker said.
Work on the giant lettering has already begun, with Parker stating that they should be ready to install by early April.
Visitors will also be met with new "Welcome to Detroit" gateway signs along the city's borders at:
• I-75 and 8 Mile
• I-96 and Telegraph
• I-94 at Moross Road
• Southfield Road at 8 Mile
• Southfield Road and Ford Road
Friday marks 10 weeks out from the start of the NFL Draft on April 25-27, which is expected to draw up to 300,000 people to the Metro Detroit area.
Back in November of 2023, Visit Detroit President and CEO Claude Molinari said the "footprint" will include 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.
