DETROIT (WXYZ) — The clock is ticking. It's the final countdown to the NFL Draft! We are now just two days from kickoff in the heart of Downtown Detroit.
It's unbelievable. You can feel the excitement in the area surrounding the draft stage. I can't believe after all of the hard work and all of the effort that's been put into this draft downtown we're now only two days away.
Watch our report on the red carpet laid out for the NFL Draft at the Fox Theater:
That work is continuing tonight though, still a little to be done on the draft theater near Cadillac Square where future NFL stars will take center stage and wait to hear their name called.
Today I got a sneak peek at the final touches being put on the structure ahead of rehearsals and a final walkthrough for tomorrow.
"It's just working through the details, right," says Steve Farago, NFL Director of Operations. "Where the stage is gonna go. We want to make sure it looks right on camera, but also want to make sure the experience is top-notch for the fans coming down."
A final peek through the finishing touches.
"This is what we call our inner circle section, where the 15 diehard Lions fans will be invited," says Fargo. "Front and center. Right in front of the stage to watch their draft pick come out."
Sixteen months, 500 truckloads, and thousands of workers have all come down to this.
"We are almost there," says Fargo. "We're buttoning up a couple things from a core perspective. We're doing a lot of audio checks, sound checks, and then we'll go into a couple rehearsals tomorrow, with some final walkthroughs and be ready to go for Thursday."
And around the corner, right behind the stage, we got a sneak peak of the green room where all the NFL hopefuls will be waiting for their name to be called.
And just as the NFL Draft kicks off Thursday at noon, there will be a whole other group in the city hoping to make the cut. Puppies are coming to the draft!
"We've got a draft lineup of puppies that are actually going to be on stage in the theater on Saturday afternoon," says Deb Scola with the Michigan Humane Society. "We've drafted 10 beautiful puppies for the show, and so they'll be there on display and up for adoption."
Ron Jackson was born and raised in Detroit.
"Pretty massive, man. Pretty massive. I'm impressed with the size of this," Jackson says. "There's a lot of things going on. Detroit Vs. Everybody. Simple. Detroit Vs Everybody"
"It means a lot though for the city," Jackson continued. "Money, people, camaraderie. It's cool for the city."
He is shoulders back, showing off his city for his diehard Lions fans family all the way from Florida.
"I am a Detroit Lions fan for over 40 years," says Dawn Valetti. "Came in this last week to visit my sister and to experience this NFL Draft. I'm excited. I'm excited. I'm trying to find somebody to get me in."
She needs the hookup!
As we set the stage for the national spotlight, make sure you leave yourself some extra time to get around. You're going to need that, even if you get the NFL OnePass app so that you can navigate all the fun.
Between 300,000 and 400,000 are going to be flooding the Motor City and that means a whole lot of traffic.
