23-05-2025
City of Detroit gears up for busy Memorial Day weekend
Memorial Day weekend is finally here, and with it comes the start of festival season in Metro Detroit.
While it may be chilly, the city is not canceling its unofficial start of summer. Visit Detroit says it is anticipating close to 300,000 people making their way downtown this weekend.
"This is definitely the entertainment capital of the world, at least in the Midwest," said Claude Molinari, president and CEO of Visit Detroit.
From street closures to reroutes, city leaders say they are already preparing for the surge of people and offer plenty of transportation options.
"This weekend, we worked with the People Mover and the Q Line to extend their hours to one in the morning; we've set up Park and Ride programs," said Sam Krassenstein, deputy director of the Detroit Department of Public Works.
Molinari says between the Movement Festival downtown, the Tigers-Guardians homestand at Comerica Park, and The Weeknd concert at Ford Field, the city could see close to $100 million in revenue for just this weekend alone.
"You've got people from out of town putting their money in town, which is then reinvested into the community, and it is new money. It's not recycled money. It's money that wasn't here, that's here, and then comes back and goes," said Molinari.
While this may seem daunting, Krassenstein says planning for last year's NFL Draft gave them a helpful leg up in preparing.
"For that, we had that really complex series of road closures, a really intricate communications plan for having fan shuttles and using public transit, and we've taken a lot of those lessons, and we applied them to events for this year," said Krassenstein.
With thousands of people expected to roll into town over the next few days, both men encourage Detroiters to plan ahead and enjoy.
"We try to make sure that everyone, no matter if it's a Detroiter or someone coming in from the suburbs, that they're enjoying their time downtown, and they want to come back," said Krassenstein.
"Take full advantage of Southeast Michigan, because, you know, this is going to be an amazing summer, and I think that we're all going to benefit greatly from it," said Molinari.
