The Detroit Lions will host the National Football League's (NFL) first LGBT pride night on October 25 at Ford Field as the Lions take on the Minnesota Vikings. The Lions are hosting the event in partnership with the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce who have hosted similar events for the city's respective professional basketball, hockey, and baseball teams. This event is thought to be the first officially recognized LGBT pride night in the NFL, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers previously hosted a similar official LGBT pre-game tailgate event. Tickets will go on sale later this summer at DetroitLions.com.
"It means a lot, in particular the support and rapid response from (the Lions)," said James Felton Keith, CEO of the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce. "It means the world, actually. But these large sporting events play into our InDetroit campaign (and) our Inclusive Detroit campaign, which primarily affects the large corporations in the area. But these sports franchises are some of the largest corporations in the area and they affect the overall social sentiment."