2024 is set to be a big year for metro Detroit, with some major events coming to the City of Detroit, plus some major openings.
As we come to the end of 2023, we're looking at some of the biggest things that we can expect to happen in metro Detroit next year.
Detroit Lions first home playoff game
The first major event we'll see in Detroit will be something everyone is watching – the first Lions playoff game ever held at Ford Field.
After Detroit clinched the NFC North on Dec. 24, the Lions sealed up a home game for the playoffs, their first since the early 1990s.
While it's not clear what seed the Lions will have or when the game will take place, the Wild Card Round kicks off Saturday, Jan. 13 with games on Jan. 13, Jan. 14 or Jan. 15.
2024 NFL Draft
Arguably the biggest event coming to Detroit in years, the 2024 NFL Draft is expected to bring hundreds of thousands of people to the Motor City in April.
More coverage ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft here
The draft will take place April 25-27 in Downtown Detroit, focused specifically in the areas around Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza. Specific detailsa re still being fainlized.
According to officials, the NFL draft Experience – the NFL's interactive football theme park – will also be open for all three days of the draft. Fans will have the chance to play games, check out interactive exhibits, autograph sessions and take pictures with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Community events related to the draft in Detroit will be free for everyone, the officials announced.
Michigan Central Station opening
Nearly six years after Ford Motor Company purchased the empty Michigan Central Station in Corktown, the station is expected to open to the public.
In an article from the University of Michigan earlier this year, Joshua Sirefman, who is the CEO of Michigan Central, said the station should be ready to open to the public around May 2024.
Other areas around Michigan Central Station have been open, including the nation's first inductive-charging road and Newlab Detroit.
Completion of the Gordie Howe International Bridge
Earlier this year, final work took place on construction for the Gordie Howe International Bridge towers, a big step for work on the new international bridge crossing.
At the start of December, a public information meeting was held for the bridge, and our partners at Outlier Media and the Detroit Documenters took notes at that meeting.
According to officials, the bridge is expected to open in late 2024 and be about 1.5 miles long with 216 stay cables keeping it in place. At some point next year, the deck will also meet in the middle of the Detroit River.
One thing that makes this bridge unique compared to the Ambassador Bridge is there will be an 11-foot bike and pedestrian path to allow people to cross the bridge for free.
Detroit Riverfront Expansion
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy said a new portion of the riverfront east of Wilson Park will open in the spring of 2024. It will include a boardwalk in front of the Riverfront Towers apartment and a new section of Riverwalk in the property adjacent to it.
Those are the latest projects in the massive expansion of the riverfront that this year included the opening of the Southwest Greenway, which opened in the spring of 2023, and the Uniroyal Promenade which connects the riverfront to Belle Isle's MacArthur Bridge, which opened in the fall.
Looking ahead to 2025, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park is expected to open. The $75 million investment has construction underway on the 22-acre park
The park will connect the east riverfront to the west riverfront, including from Belle Isle to the new park and the Southwest Greenway.
2024 election
Michigan will once again play an important role in the 2024 election. We are a swing state and we can expect both President Joe Biden and the Republican nominee to make stops in the state before the November election. This year, Michigan will also be among the first states to vote in the primary, taking place at the end of February. There is also a U.S. Senate seat up for grabs with Sen. Debbie Stabenow retiring.
Democrats also took over the State House and Senate in Michigan in 2022, and they'll look to maintain that majority after the 2024 election. The slim majority in the House went away and is now evenly split after two representatives resigned after winning 2023 elections. Those special elections will take place in April.
Detroit Development Continues
Finally, development throughout the City of Detroit is expected to continue after a busy 2023. This year saw the reopening of the historic Book Tower, several new hotels throughout Downtown and Corktown, and that momentum should keep going.
Anticipated developments that could finish in 2024 include the Hudson's Tower, the new apartment at the site of the Joe Louis Arena, plus construction on a new hotel on the site of the Joe.
We also expect some more developments to kick off in The District Detroit, and the ground was just broken on the University of Michigan Detroit Center for Innovation.
