Fifty-eight of the first 79 NFL Drafts were held in New York City.
When the NFL decided to open the draft up for various NFL cities to host starting in 2015, that piqued the interest of the Green Bay Packers.
The league’s second-oldest active franchise wanted to get in on hosting the biggest event the NFL has every offseason.
After seven years of tireless effort and endless pitches to the NFL, Green Bay was awarded the 2025 NFL Draft.
It was announced on May 22, and local leaders met at Lambeau Field on May 24 to discuss the news with the media.
Getting awarded the 2025 NFL Draft was a collaborative effort, mainly by the Packers and Discover Green Bay.
“The Packers are not only excited about this, but we’re also honored to be selected to host the 2025 NFL Draft right here in Green Bay and Wisconsin,” Packers CEO and President Mark Murphy said.
“What better place than right here, in my opinion,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Big-time credit to Mark Murphy and the staff upstairs in terms of being able to get that done.”
Discover Green Bay CEO and President Brad Toll remembers when the league announced the NFL Draft was going to be leaving Radio City Music Hall, he quickly did an internet search. Toll checked the seating space at the hall — which was 6,000 — and the meeting space. He called Packers Director of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey and told him the Resch Center would be an ample venue for the NFL Draft.
Seven years later, Toll received his wish.
“Good things come to those that wait,” Toll said. “It took us a bit, but we couldn’t be prouder to have this event coming our direction.”
The NFL Draft is a three-day event at the end of April with Thursday having the first round, Friday running Rounds 2-3 and Saturday wrapping up with Rounds 4-7.
Murphy first started thinking Green Bay was a possible destination as well after Chicago hosted in 2015 and ’16.
“They had the great idea of, let’s treat it like the Super Bowl, we’ll move it around the league — and really with a focus on communities that probably would never be able to host a Super Bowl,” Murphy said. “They had two years in a row in Chicago, and that’s really when we started the effort in about 2016. We really kind of looked at it and put a bid in to host the 2019 draft, and so you can see from 2016, we have been very persistent. Credit goes to so many different people within the organization. But Aaron Popkey and Brad Toll believe it was in 2017 when they first attended a draft, you’ve been to many others since then to see exactly what it takes for a community to host a draft, so they’ve been really great.”
Gabrielle Dow, Packers Vice President of Marketing and Fan Engagement, led the effort for the team.
“It’s been a long journey,” Murphy said. “I think everybody has shown patience and persistence. There were many times we thought we were close, and it’s great to be here and it was great to have the announcement officially come from the league.”
Receiving Interest in the NFL Draft
Dow said the Packers experienced light interest in hosting the NFL Draft 2016-18 but didn’t get serious until 2019. At that point, Packers’ brass reached out to Discover Green Bay, and a local organizing committee was formed. According to the NFL, the Packers became the first NFL team to drive the draft bid with the league.
In January 2020, the Packers were ready to submit their bid for the 2022 NFL Draft, but the league was awarding the event to Las Vegas because it got pushed during the 2020 draft since it was virtual because of COVID-19.
The Packers submitted their proposal for the 2024 NFL Draft and expressed interest in ’25. The league told the team it was going with Detroit in ’24, and ’25 was off the table. The Packers decided to try for the ’27 NFL Draft. However, the Packers got word from the NFL this past January that the ’25 draft was back on the table. The Packers and Discover Green Bay went to work.
Green Bay’s Stadium District has come a long way since 2016, when the Packers first started to think about hosting the NFL Draft. Since that point, there has been the addition of Titletown (with its restaurants, hotels and kids play area) and the Resch Expo, along with Discover Green Bay’s new visitor center will be fully functional by the time the draft rolls around. All these new amenities to Green Bay helped the city get rewarded with the draft.
“There’s many great things about Green Bay,” Murphy said. “I think one of the things (we’re) really going to focus on and distinguishes us from all the other cities is our history and tradition and the connection between the city and the fans and our team. The draft really is the biggest and the most popular NFL event out of the football season and it brings fans together to celebrate their favorite teams, experience the newest players being selected and then helps build excitement for the season.”
Economic Impact and The Plan
Toll said there will be an estimated 240,000-250,000 people invading the Green Bay area for the draft.
The event is anticipated to have an economic impact of $94 million statewide. Around $20 million of that will be spent in Green Bay.
Murphy noted that a typical regular-season home game for the Packers brings in $15 million.
“One of the things we’re real excited about, we all know the passion that our fans have and how unique that is, I think that’s going to show the whole nation exactly how passionate our fans are,” Murphy said. “I’m anticipating the atmosphere for the draft in 2025 with our fans there and fans of NFL teams around the league, but it’s really going to be exciting.”
Toll explained that Green Bay is considered a “drive market” — meaning a lot of fans will drive in for the NFL Draft and spend their money in the area.
“Spreading the impact of this event all over the state of Wisconsin,” Toll said. “As they come in, they’ll be filling their cars with gas, having lunch in cafes and restaurants throughout our state. We fully expect fans will be staying overnight in cities throughout Wisconsin.”
Since the NFL Draft in Green Bay is still 23 months away, logistical details are still in the planning stages and locations where everything will happen have yet to be announced.
Dow did say the draft’s mainstage, NFL Experience, green room, media center, red carpet and fan areas will all take place on the “Lambeau Field Campus.” That area includes Lambeau Field, Titletown, the Resch Expo and the Resch Center.
It will be the NFL’s decision as to where the mainstage will be located. League representatives will be frequenting Green Bay quite often over the next two years.
“It is an incredible once-in-a-generation opportunity that will create a lasting legacy for Wisconsin,” Murphy said. “It’s exciting and it’s an awful lot of work as we talked about, we have less than two years and we’re ready to get started.”
Discover Green Bay has a rough budget of about $7.5 million for the event. Dow noted the Packers and the Stadium District have both contributed funds, and she’s hoping the state of Wisconsin will lend financial support as well.
“Over the next two years, our local organizing committee will work to promote and showcase this great state of Wisconsin with the goal of getting fans across the United States and the world to come visit Wisconsin for our 2025 draft,” Dow said. “Whether you visit Wisconsin because of the draft or you’re checking your bucket list off and visiting Lambeau Field or you’re turning the draft into a family vacation or even a business trip, together with our friends … we will together ensure that all are welcome to our great state and that your time with us during the 2025 draft will be a lifetime memory.”
About the Author
Greg Bates is an award-winning journalist based in De Pere, Wisc. He’s been helping out The Associated Press with Packers game coverage since 2011, focusing on acquiring postgame quotes from visiting team players and coaches. Over his 20-plus years in the industry, Bates has freelanced for outlets such as USA TODAY Sports Weekly, New York Post, Seattle Times, Newark Star-Ledger, USA Hockey Magazine, USAHockey.com, TeamUSA.org and Sports Collectors Digest.