It's a busy weekend for Detroit — and Windsor is seeing the benefits

Shaura Thomas will be one of thousands taking in WWE's SummerSlam pro wrestling event at Ford Field this weekend.

Coming all the way from Florida, she's making Windsor her home base for the trip. 

"When I was looking at hotels, I saw that Windsor was in close proximity to Ford Field," Thomas said. "I decided, let me just go ahead and book a hotel that's in close proximity to Ford Field, downtown Detroit. 

"Once I started looking at different things about the city I thought it was very interesting and I've always wanted to go to Canada in general. And so I felt like I was killing two birds with one stone." 

SummerSlam one of many reasons this one will be a bustling one in Windsor-Essex. The Detroit Tigers will also be playing a home series at Comerica Park. In Windsor, Incubus and RuPaul will both have shows at Caesars Windsor over the long weekend. 

Canada has 'some of the best' pro fans: Wrestlers

Wrestling duo Chad Gable and Otis said they're happy to be in Detroit this weekend. But, they said, Canadian fans — many of whom will be coming across the border to attend SummerSlam — are some of the best around. 

"We can't wait to get back to there, we have some dates on our calendar already," Gable said. "Every time we come there they prove themselves as some of the best professional wrestling fans int he world. And I'm not just saying that.

"Every time we go, sometimes we complain — the travel, long trips, going through customs. But you get there and people make you forget all of that immediately because the crowds are just insane."

Otis' message to his Canadian fans was to the point: "I love you all, baby."

A return to 'main event weekends:' Councillor

Thomas said the favourable U.S. dollar helped her decision to stay in Windsor — it ended up being cheaper to stay in Windsor and rent a car to travel back and forth.

While it means a fair bit of driving, she said she's happy she'll be able to visit both places in one trip. 

She said she's heard good things about Windsor from friends who travel to Canada more frequently, and she's excited about visiting Caesars, taking in the Detroit skyline and riverfront park and — as Americans do — trying some Tim Hortons. 

"I've already told my friend that, you know, as soon as we cross over, that's what I want," she said with a laugh. 

Ward 3 Coun. Renaldo Agostino, who represents the downtown, said this is the first true "main event" weekend for the city since the COVID-19 pandemic — a return to what used to be normal.

"It's a great weekend for us," he said, pointing to shows at Caesars and SummerSlam as main events. "It's the story of downtown, you know, it's ups and downs. It's ups and downs. It's ups and downs, but just like any good fighter, we never give up."

Tyson Cragg, executive director of Transit Windsor, said the city has a total of seven tunnel buses on deck for this weekend: Four dedicated to SummerSlam, and another three for the Tigers game — all sold out. 

Cragg said that since the service resumed in May, officials have been able to pretty accurately predict the demand for tunnel bus service and most have been sold-out buses. 

Local bar gearing up for cross-border crowds

It should be one of the busiest weekends of the summer, says one local business owner downtown. 

"It's going to be quite the day, we've got that and then Saturday, the weather is supposed to be nice," said Angus MacKinnon, owner of the Loose Goose Restopub and Lounge on Ouellette Avenue. 

"Lots of stuff going on this weekend in Windsor too.

"Definitely be one of the busier weekends in the summer for us."

In Windsor, it's a holiday long weekend. And the PGA Canada golf tournament is in town, too, he noted.

MacKinnon said it's been a good summer so far, with the weather posing the only challenge with repeated thunderstorms.

It's closer to pre-pandemic summers, MacKinnon said.

He'll be one of the many Windsorites heading across the border, and he'll be following the same advice he gives to others: Leave early and give yourself some leeway for border crowds. 

"Every time Detroit's got a big event going on like this, it's always a benefit for us here in downtown Windsor."