On Tigers and Lions game days, you cannot fly a drone within 3 nautical miles of Comerica Park or Ford Field from one hour before the game until one hour after it ends. Because the two stadiums sit side by side, that ring covers all of downtown Detroit, the riverfront, Corktown, Midtown, New Center and the western half of Belle Isle. The same FAA restriction applies to NCAA Division I football at Ford Field and to IndyCar’s Detroit Grand Prix. Little Caesars Arena events are not covered by it.
This is general information, not legal advice. Airspace and rules change, so check B4UFLY or a LAANC app and the relevant permit office before every flight.
What the stadium restriction says
The rule is a standing flight restriction published as FDC NOTAM 4/3621, which the FAA summarizes in a law enforcement handout and on its sports stadiums page. The key terms:
- Where: within a 3 nautical mile radius, up to and including 3,000 feet above ground level, of any stadium with 30,000 or more seats.
- When: from one hour before the scheduled start until one hour after the end of the event.
- Which events: regular-season and postseason MLB, NFL and NCAA Division I football games. It also applies to NASCAR Sprint Cup, IndyCar and Champ Series races, excluding qualifying and pre-race events.
- Who is covered: all aircraft, including drones and remote-controlled aircraft.
- Penalty: the FAA classifies this airspace as National Defense Airspace. Knowingly or willfully violating it can bring criminal penalties under 49 U.S.C. 46307, and pilots may be detained and interviewed by law enforcement.
Three nautical miles is about 3.5 statute miles. For drones, the 3,000-foot ceiling is academic, since Part 107 caps most flights at 400 feet. The radius is what matters.
The NOTAM allows flights for a venue’s operational needs and for the broadcast rights holder, with an approved airspace waiver. A brand, a developer or an event sponsor filming nearby does not qualify.
How far the ring reaches in Detroit
Comerica Park and Ford Field are roughly 0.15 nautical miles apart, so their rings overlap almost completely. We measured the straight-line distance from each stadium to places people often ask us to fly. These are approximate: they are calculated from map coordinates for each site, and the official restriction is measured from the point published for each stadium. Treat anything close to 3 nautical miles as inside.
| Location | To Comerica Park | To Ford Field | During a covered event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Little Caesars Arena | about 0.3 NM | about 0.4 NM | Inside |
| Campus Martius | about 0.5 NM | about 0.5 NM | Inside |
| Eastern Market | about 0.7 NM | about 0.6 NM | Inside |
| Dequindre Cut at Gratiot | about 0.7 NM | about 0.6 NM | Inside |
| Hart Plaza | about 0.7 NM | about 0.8 NM | Inside |
| Water Square | about 0.9 NM | about 0.9 NM | Inside |
| Dequindre Cut at the riverfront | about 1.0 NM | about 0.9 NM | Inside |
| Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Centennial Park | about 1.2 NM | about 1.3 NM | Inside |
| Corktown (Michigan Central) | about 1.4 NM | about 1.6 NM | Inside |
| Scott Fountain, Belle Isle | about 2.2 NM | about 2.1 NM | Inside |
| New Center (Fisher Building) | about 2.2 NM | about 2.3 NM | Inside |
| Middle of Belle Isle | about 3.5 NM | about 3.4 NM | Outside, near the edge |
The practical reading: on a covered game day, no downtown, riverfront, Midtown, Corktown or New Center flight happens inside the window. On Belle Isle, the ring ends near the middle of the island. The Scott Fountain and the western end are inside, and the eastern half is outside.
What this restriction does not cover
Little Caesars Arena. The NOTAM covers baseball, football and certain auto races. Red Wings and Pistons games at Little Caesars Arena are not on the list, even though the arena sits about 0.3 nautical miles from Comerica Park.
Concerts and other events. A concert at Ford Field or Comerica Park is not an MLB, NFL or college football game, so this NOTAM does not apply to it. That does not mean the sky is open. The FAA can issue separate temporary flight restrictions for special events, VIP visits and security situations, and those appear in the NOTAM system on their own terms.
Events that get their own restrictions. Stadium games are not the only trigger. The FAA now issues a separate “UAS Public Gathering” flight restriction for large events when local authorities request one. For example, FDC NOTAM 6/3156 closed the airspace within 2 nautical miles of Comerica Park, from the surface to 400 feet, for Savannah Bananas games on September 18 to 20, 2026, at the request of the Detroit Police Department. Concerts, festivals and exhibition games can carry restrictions like this, so check the NOTAMs for your date even when no MLB or NFL game is scheduled.
Preseason games. The NOTAM text names regular-season and postseason games. Do not treat a preseason game as clear without checking the FAA’s event map and current NOTAMs for that day.
Even outside a TFR window, the other rules still apply. A crowd gathered outside Little Caesars Arena can count as an open-air assembly under Part 107, and the rules on flying over people do not take the night off. Our Detroit drone rules guide covers those.
The Detroit Grand Prix
The Detroit Grand Prix is an IndyCar race on a downtown street circuit, which puts it squarely under the NOTAM’s auto racing provision. Qualifying and pre-race events are excluded from this particular restriction, but a street race closes roads, draws crowds and can bring additional airspace notices, so plan the entire weekend as a no-fly period downtown. The 2027 race is scheduled for June 4 to 6, according to the Detroit Grand Prix website. Because the course is not a stadium, confirm the restricted area and times in the FAA’s event map before planning anything nearby.
How to check before you fly
No single source is enough. We check three.
- The FAA’s SEAMS map. The FAA built its Sporting Event Automated Monitoring System with the leagues, which send it their full schedules and live updates for weather delays, overtime and cancellations, according to the FAA’s stadium page. It shows each covered event’s location and active times, usually for the whole season.
- B4UFLY or your LAANC app. These show airspace and active restrictions at your exact launch point. Recheck on the morning of the shoot and again before takeoff.
- The FAA’s NOTAM search and TFR list. This is where special-event and VIP restrictions show up, including ones that have nothing to do with sports.
The end time moves. The window closes one hour after the event actually ends, not after its scheduled end. Extra innings, overtime and rain delays all push it later. If your shot depends on the minute the restriction lifts, recheck before you launch.
Planning around Tigers and Lions home schedules
Most scheduling conflicts are avoidable if the calendar gets checked before the shoot date is set, not after.
Pull both schedules at the start. The Tigers play half their games at home from spring into fall, plus any postseason games in October. The Lions play home games at Ford Field from September into January, including their traditional Thanksgiving Day game. College games at Ford Field, such as the Mid-American Conference championship, add more dates. Put every home date on the production calendar before offering a client dates.
Work out the real window. For a game with a scheduled start, subtract an hour. Then add the length of a typical game plus an hour. For most games, the restriction runs about five hours. For example, a game scheduled for 7 p.m. would block downtown from 6 p.m. until roughly 11 p.m., which takes out sunset and blue hour on the riverfront for most of the season.
Use the other side of the day. A night game leaves the morning and early afternoon open. An early-afternoon Sunday kickoff leaves sunrise and early morning open. Many riverfront and skyline shots work at either end of the day.
Hold October dates loosely. Postseason games are scheduled on short notice, and the NOTAM covers them. If the Tigers are in a playoff race, treat downtown dates in early October as tentative until the bracket is set, and keep a backup date.
Build a weather day that avoids home games. Detroit weather moves shoots, especially in spring and fall. A rain date that lands on a home game is not a rain date.
Choose locations outside the ring when the date is fixed. If an event date cannot move, the eastern half of Belle Isle and neighborhoods more than about 3.5 statute miles from the stadiums remain available, subject to the usual airspace and permit checks.
For a client, the takeaway is simple. Ask your drone team to confirm the stadium calendar before you lock a date, especially for riverfront, rooftop and downtown event videography.
How we plan downtown shoots
Game-day conflicts are among the easiest drone problems to prevent. We check the Tigers, Lions and FAA event calendars when we scope a shoot, not the night before. If you are planning aerial work anywhere near downtown, start with our drone photography service.