(WXYZ) — NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said on Thursday night in the middle of the draft the Detroit set the all-time attendance record for the first day of the draft.
In all, there were more than 275,000 people who attended day one. Officials had expected there would be 300,000-400,000 throughout the entire weekend.
So many people arrived that they had to shut down the entrances for the night. NFL Draft officials said around 6:30 p.m. they had to end general admission entry due to capacity restrictions.
Originally, they had paused general admission entry, but about 10 minutes later, they sent an update on the OnePass app that the gates were closed and wouldn't reopen until 12 p.m. Friday for rounds 2 and 3.
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In an alert on the OnePass app, the league said "GENERAL ADMISSION ENTRY HAS BEEN PAUSED AT THIS TIME" and encouraged people to visit other viewing parties in Downtown Detroit.
Earlier in the afternoon, the NFL said that entry 2 was "exceptionally congested" and then was eventually closed around 5:30 p.m. due to crowd capacity.
VIDEO: TIMELAPSE: Watch crowds roll into Downtown Detroit for the NFL Draft:
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