Sports in Detroit facts for kids

Comerica Park, home of the American League Detroit Tigers

Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions

Little Caesars Arena, home of the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Red Wings.

Detroit is a city in the United States that loves sports! It's special because it has four major professional sports teams: baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. Since 2017, Detroit is the only U.S. city where all these teams play in their downtown area. This means fans can easily visit the stadiums and arenas.

All four teams play right in Detroit. There are three main sports places in the city: Comerica Park (where the Detroit Tigers baseball team plays), Ford Field (home to the Detroit Lions football team), and Little Caesars Arena (where the Detroit Red Wings hockey team and Detroit Pistons basketball team play). Detroit is especially famous for its hockey fans, earning the nickname "Hockeytown." In 2008, the Tigers had over 3 million visitors, showing how much people love their teams!

For college sports, the University of Detroit Mercy has a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program. Wayne State University has a Division II program. Ford Field also hosts the NCAA football Quick Lane Bowl every December.

Major League Sports Teams

Detroit is home to some exciting professional sports teams! Here's a quick look at the main ones:

Detroit has hosted many big sports events. Comerica Park held the 2005 Major League Baseball All-Star Game in 2005. Ford Field hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006, which is the championship game for American football. Comerica Park also hosted games for the 2006 World Series and 2012 World Series in baseball.

The Palace of Auburn Hills, a former arena, hosted NBA Finals games for the Pistons in 2004 and 2005. It was also home to the Detroit Shock (now the Dallas Wings), a women's basketball team that won championships in 2003, 2006, and 2008.

In 2014, the 2014 NHL Winter Classic hockey game was played at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Other hockey games were also played on an ice rink at Comerica Park.

City of Champions (1930s)

Detroit earned the nickname "City of Champions" in the 1930s because its teams had so much success!

• The Detroit Lions won the National Football League championship in 1935.
• The Detroit Tigers won the American League baseball championship in 1934 and 1935, then won the World Series in 1935.
• The Detroit Red Wings won the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup in 1936 and 1937.

This meant that from April to October 1936, Detroit was the defending champion in the NFL, NHL, and MLB all at the same time! Detroit is still the only city to win three major professional sports championships in the same year.

Individual athletes from Detroit also achieved great things:

• Gar Wood, from Detroit, won the Harmsworth Trophy for powerboat racing on the Detroit River in 1931.
• Eddie "the Midnight Express" Tolan, a sprinter who went to high school in Detroit, won two gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter races at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
• Boxer Joe Louis, who moved to Detroit when he was 12, became the heavyweight boxing champion of the world in 1937.

College Sports

Detroit and the surrounding area have many college sports programs. Here are some of the main ones:

In 2003, Ford Field hosted a basketball game between the University of Kentucky and Michigan State University. It had a record-breaking crowd of 78,129 fans, the largest verified crowd in basketball history at the time! Ford Field also hosted the Final Four of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

The Frozen Four, which is the championship for college ice hockey, was held at Ford Field in 2010.

Sports Events in Detroit

Detroit has tried many times to host the Summer Olympic Games, more than any other city that hasn't hosted them yet! They bid for the Games in 1944, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, and 1972.

Oakland Hills Country Club, a golf course near Detroit, has hosted many big golf tournaments, including the U.S. Open six times and the PGA Championship three times. It also hosted the Ryder Cup in 2004.

The Detroit Marathon is held every year in October, where runners race through the city.

Detroit also hosts the Detroit Indy Grand Prix, an exciting car race. It used to be on the streets of downtown Detroit and now takes place on Belle Isle.

Water Sports

Sailboat racing is very popular in the Detroit area. Many yacht clubs on Lake Saint Clair host races. The Crescent Sailboat, NA-40, and the L boat were even designed and built right in Detroit!

Since 1904, Detroit has been home to the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup unlimited hydroplane boat race. These powerful boats race on the Detroit River near Belle Isle. The Gold Cup is the oldest active motorsport trophy in the world!

Other Sports Teams

Besides the major league teams, Detroit has many other sports teams:

Racing Teams

Other Teams

Former Teams

Detroit has also been home to many sports teams that are no longer active:

Venues

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  Ford Field

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  Comerica Park

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  Lexus Velodrome

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  Raceway at Belle Isle

Sports Media

If you want to listen to sports in Detroit, 97.1 FM WXYT is a radio station that broadcasts sports. WJR-AM 760 broadcasts Michigan State Spartans games, and WWJ-AM 950 broadcasts University of Michigan Wolverines games. There are also many sports podcasts that cover Detroit sports every day.

Professional Wrestling

Detroit has a long history with professional wrestling. From the 1950s to the 1980s, it had its own wrestling territory called Big Time Wrestling. More recently, Detroit hosted World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s WrestleMania 23 in 2007 at Ford Field, which had over 80,000 fans! This event was 20 years after WrestleMania III was held at the Pontiac Silverdome nearby in 1987, drawing even more fans. WWE has also held other big events in Detroit, like several Survivor Series shows at Joe Louis Arena, and SummerSlam 2023 at Ford Field.