TITLETOWN (NBC 26) — The 2024 NFL Draft begins Thursday, as the clock ticks toward Green Bay's turn to host the NFL's biggest offseason circus. Major questions remain about the layout of the 2025 Draft.
- The only indication the league has given about the 2025 Draft footprint is that it will be "inside and around iconic Lambeau Field and Titletown."
- The past five draft sites (including Detroit) have hosted the Draft on an open-air stage.
- One of those hosts, Cleveland, also hosted in the vicinity of its stadium, choosing to place the stage outside the stadium, and fan activities inside it.
- The most recent host to place the stage indoors was Dallas in 2018.
- St. Norbert College business school dean Kevin Quinn, who also wrote a book about the economics of the NFL, believes the league will put the stage outdoors with Lambeau Field in the background, citing television aesthetics.
- Quinn also said Green Bay will see a fraction of the hundreds of millions of dollars of economic impact other recent hosts have enjoyed — but it will make a bigger impact.
- Video shows comparisons of past draft sites to Green Bay, economically and logistically.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
With the NFL Draft beginning in Detroit, it's almost time for Green Bay to be on the clock for the 2025 draft.
We're looking into what our draft setup may look like, and how much money it could bring to town.
Detroit's draft experience will stretch multiple city blocks, including the stage and activities for fans.
While Kansas City's in 2023 was more centralized.
In 2021, Cleveland had fan activities inside its stadium, but the Draft stage outside.
The only thing the NFL has said about the Green Bay draft is that it will be "inside and around" Lambeau Field and Titletown.
What we do know is that each of the past five in-person NFL drafts have had a stage outside the stadium.
"I can't imagine they're not going to do it outside," Kevin Quinn said. "They are looking for TV visuals."
Kevin Quinn wrote the book on the economics of the NFL.
Location aside, Quinn says the Draft could be the biggest event in Green Bay's history.
"Our total amount of economic activity here is tiny compared to Kansas City, or Detroit, or some of the others," Quinn said.
He says estimates of a $20 million impact for Green Bay could be a little high.
"All of these economic impact statements — not just around sports and not just around the NFL — they are almost always inflated," Quinn said.
But he says: "It's definitely going to be noticeable."
While previous draft hosts have received or anticipate more than $100 million of impact, Green Bay is a fraction of their size, so local leaders say the boost is more noticeable.
"Kansas City, hundreds of millions of dollars have gone to that, either direct or indirect spending," Ashwaubenon deputy village manager Patrick Leigl said. "It's safe to assume that this is probably going to be a multimillion-dollar economic boost in the community."
This year the NFL didn't release a map of the Detroit footprint until about two months before the Draft, so it may be awhile before Green Bay knows exactly what it looks like.
