The New Detroit Sign is Green for a Surprising but Very Logical Reason

If you've not yet seen it, you've almost certainly heard about it, a new sign welcoming visitors to the city of Detroit was erected along I-94 ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft.

The sign has had a slew of critics since its construction including, perhaps most virally from the 'voice of Detroit,' rapper G'MAC Cash.

One oddity that some people have raised is, why are the letters green? What does that have to do with Detroit?

It turns out, everything.

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No, the letters are not green to profess an affinity for Michigan State University, rather green is the official and primary color of the city of Detroit.

Surprised? Us too. But it's spelled out right in the city's style guide. There are three shades of green that are the city's 'Primary Colors' to be used in all marketing, branding and city communications. Those three shades are City Green, Spirit Green and Light Green.

And it's in the names of the shades that give away why green. The colors represent The Spirit of Detroit, the bronze statue that serves as an emblem of the city.

Credit a reddit user who knew of Detroit Green as an explanation to why the new sign is painted as it is.

Probably because it's the official city color.

"The City uses three green shades derived from the Spirit of Detroit logo. The primary color palette consists of these three City greens as well as black and white."

So now we know. Detroit is not red for the hockey team or Honolulu Blue for the football team. Detroit is, proudly, green.