NFL draft attendance record within reach in Detroit, Commissioner Roger Goodell tells fans on Day 2

DETROIT (AP) — The NFL draft tour has not had a stop quite like the one in Detroit.

“We watched 32 amazing players join the NFL family in front of a record 275,000 people,” Commissioner Roger Goodell told fans who flooded downtown Detroit on Friday for a second straight day. "Guess what? Another 230,000 are already here tonight.

“So Detroit, you’re within 100,000 of breaking the all-time record.”

Nashville drew 600,000 fans over the three days of the NFL draft in 2019 to set the mark the Motor City will shoot to surpass on Saturday. Nashville had the previous first- and second-round records, drawing 200,000 fans each day.

Michigan coach Sherrone Moore, assistant coaches and players he has returning from last season's national championship-winning team were introduced on stage by Goodell, and the crowd sang the school's fight song before the second round kicked off.

“It's super special to be here,” Wolverines tight end Colston Loveland said. “Detroit showed out, for sure.

"There's lot of bodies here.”

Streets, restaurants, bars and hotels were filled for a second straight day as fans of the 32 teams gathered for a party that showed no signs of slowing down.

Larry Kordosky traveled from Arizona to attend his second NFL draft and left no doubt who his favorite team is, wearing red and blue pants with Bills logos and a Buffalo jersey under black shoulder pads.

“You couldn’t ask for a better crowd or host," Kordosky said, standing in a rare open space in the middle of Campus Martius Park. "I had never been to Detroit. I love it. It’s an amazing city.

“I went to the draft in Las Vegas two years ago, but it was nothing like this. There are fans everywhere, especially Lions fans.”

Lions season-ticket holder Reiner Calderero of Warren, Michigan, and Christopher Guiao of Sterling Heights were in the first row up against a barricade just beyond the covered theater area where the picks were announced.

They were easy to pick out in the crowd.

The men wore the same Honolulu blue and silver masks they put on for home games at nearby Ford Field.

Guiao said the NFL draft experience exceeded his high expectations.

“All day, both days, the whole area has been packed,” he said. “Hopefully, the world sees what we see. Detroit is a beautiful city with warm people.”

In addition to the intangible benefits of showing the city in a good light for visitors and 50-plus million people watching on TVs, phones and tablets, the economic impact was expected to exceed $160 million and that’s when local organizers were expecting 400,000 fans to attend the three-day event.

More than 20 teams have inquired about hosting a future NFL draft and Green Bay will be on the clock after the seventh round concludes Saturday.

The Motor City, which was once one of the nation’s largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013 and has made the most of an opportunity to shine.

“A special thank you to everybody here who came from across Michigan and across the United States to help Detroit set new attendance records for the NFL draft,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, joined by Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, said on stage before announcing the Lions had drafted Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr. in the second round.

The NFL draft is giving Detroit a chance to show the world how far it has come, according to Dan Gilbert, whose real-estate company, Bedrock, was among the private and public entities to land the league's annual event.

“The city, it’s got an energy to it,” Gilbert said in an interview with The Associated Press. “I think that’s one of the reasons we’re able to convince the NFL to do the draft out here. They could feel the energy as we took them on tours here.”

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An NFL football draft jersey is displayed on the Spirit of Detroit statue Friday, April 19, 2024, in Detroit. The draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities a chance around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. The Motor City, which was once one of the nation's largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

FILE - The new 685-foot tall tower under construction on the former Hudson's site is viewed Friday, July 7, 2023, in Detroit. The NFL football draft has taken the show on the road for a decade, giving cities a chance around the country a chance to be in the spotlight. The Motor City, which was once one of the nation's largest and most powerful cities, has bounced back from filing for bankruptcy in 2013. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

Fans wait outside of the draft theater ahead of the first round of the NFL football draft, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Crowds fill an area outside of the draft stage during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Michigan football players stand on stage during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Larry Kordosky of Arizona attends the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Crowds fill an area outside of the draft stage during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Crowds fill an area outside of the draft stage during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Christopher Guiao, left, and Reiner Calderero attend the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Crowds watch during the second round of the NFL football draft, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — The governing party in Georgia on Wednesday picked a former soccer player as its candidate for president following a disputed victory in last month's parliamentary election that has sparked protests and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.

The Georgian Dream party nominated Mikheil Kavelashvili, a 53-year-old former national team and Premier League player, for the mostly ceremonial presidential post. He is all but certain to win the Dec. 14 vote by the electoral college controlled by the ruling party.

Georgian Dream retained control of the parliament in the Oct. 26 election, widely seen as a referendum on the country’s effort to join the European Union. The opposition said the vote was rigged under the influence of Russia seeking to keep Georgia in its orbit, and declared a boycott of parliament.

European election observers said the balloting took place in a “divisive” atmosphere marked by instances of bribery, double voting and physical violence.

President Salome Zourabichvili, who has rejected the official results and refused to recognize the parliament’s legitimacy, on Monday snubbed the parliament's opening session along with opposition parties.

Zourabichvili, whose six-year term expires next month, was elected by popular vote, but Georgia has approved constitutional changes that abolished the direct election of the president and replaced it with a vote by a 300-seat electoral college consisting of members of parliament, municipal councils and regional legislatures.

Georgian Dream has a majority in the college, making the approval of Kavelashvili's candidacy all but certain.

Critics have accused Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

The EU suspended Georgia’s membership application process indefinitely in June after parliament passed a law requiring organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “pursuing the interest of a foreign power,” similar to a Russian law used to discredit organizations critical of the government. Kavelashvili was one of the bill’s authors.

On Wednesday, Ivanishvili presented Kavelashvili’s candidacy to parliament, describing him as “one of the most prominent members of our political team” and praising his “significant contribution to protecting Georgia’s national interests and strengthening the country’s sovereignty.”

Kavelashvili was a striker in the Premier League for Manchester City and in several clubs in the Swiss Super League. He was elected to parliament in 2016 on the Georgian Dream ticket. In 2022, he co-founded the People’s Power political movement, which has become known for its strong anti-Western rhetoric.

“Our society is divided," Kavelashvili said in parliament, charging that “radicalization and polarization" in the country has been fueled from abroad. He accused Zourabichvili of violating the constitution and declared that he would "restore the presidency to its constitutional framework.”

Mikheil Kavelashvili, who was nominated by the governing Georgian Dream party as a candidate for president of Georgia attends a news conference in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Feb. 14, 2019. (AP Photo)

Protesters gather in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Police block a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

A protester holds a poster as they gather in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Police block protesters gathered in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Zurab Tsertsvadze)

Protesters with EU and Georgian national flags rest in a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)

A woman with a EU and a Georgian national flags stands in front of police blocking a street during a rally to demand new parliamentary elections in the country, near the Parliament's building in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov)