GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) – Interwoven into Green Bay’s identity are the Green Bay Packers, a football team that traces its roots to the NFL’s early years.
“The NFL is very interested in bringing a draft here. The Packers organization and the tradition and history here. It’s a fantastic story to tell,” Brad Toll, executive director and chief executive officer of Discover Green Bay, said.
Discover Green Bay has been trying to draw the NFL draft for years. They have submitted a bid to host the 2027 draft.
Officials say this bid is different than all of the others in the past because of big financial pledges: the Packers organization is giving a $1 million and the stadium district is adding $1.2 million.
According to Discover Green Bay, the stadium district’s financial offer is coming from fifty percent of the ticket sales of events held inside Lambeau Field.
“How much of the community is behind it?…The NFL is looking at that and one way that the community shows that interest in truly putting in on the event is the amount of support that multiple organizations put in financially to pay for the event,” Green Bay Packers Director of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey said.
Several large football cities, including Cleveland, are vying to host the draft. A host city hasn’t been selected for the 2025, 2026, and 2027 drafts, according to Discover Green Bay.
Officials estimate it would cost about $6 million to have the event in Green Bay.
According to Discover Green Bay, the economic impact across the region of hosting the NFL draft would be $90 million.
“A lot of the other cities have said it’s well over a [$100 million]. But, you know, we’re trying to be conservative about it and as realistic as we can be,” Toll said.
While the most recent draft was in Las Vegas, the Packers and Discover Green Bay say this city has a lot of football history to offer.
“Just putting Green Bay on a larger map in terms of people who watch the draft, people who visit the draft. It’s immeasurable in many ways what it means for the community,” Popkey said.
Toll says it will take about a year until they know if they’re bid was picked by the NFL.
Discover Green Bay says this bid is different from the city’s other efforts in the past
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