People travel through the 2025 NFL Draft campus on the event's final day on April 26, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The reviews for Green Bay hosting the three-day NFL Draft have been overwhelmingly positive, from both organizers and attendees, so could the largest event in the area’s history ever return?
“It’s an amazing experience,” said Dee Boerschinger of Milwaukee. “It’s very family-oriented. They really worked hard to make a beautiful celebration that will be a lasting memory for a lot of people.”
When an event receives as much hype as the NFL Draft in Green Bay did, it can be difficult to meet expectations.
“It’s in order and it’s nice, well kept,” said Zach Bunnow of Milwaukee.
Fans were on their best behavior, too. According to the Green Bay Police Department, throughout the three-day event, there was only one arrest and eight ejections in the draft footprint.
NFL officials who put on the draft, Super Bowl and international games each year say local organizers and fans exceeded all goals.
“I apologize to the entire community, I got it completely wrong, I thought 250,000 people would come to this draft over three days and you’ve completely blown that number out the door,” said Jon Barker, the NFL’s Global Head of Events.
After three days, the attendance count was more than 600,000 people.
Barker was asked if the event in Green Bay is truly once-in-a-lifetime thing, or if there is a realistic timeline for it coming back to Wisconsin?
“I absolutely love the question, and I love the passion,” said Barker. “I would say let’s get through today and then on Monday let’s have that conversation, how about that?”
Barker says the plan is to keep rotating the draft among cities who aren’t in the conversation to host a Super Bowl.
One thing the league hopes to replicate is an early Saturday morning community event like the kids’ bike parade that kicked off the draft’s final day here — a final ode to the Packers’ training camp tradition.
“The idea of doing something Saturday morning with the community and the kids it really struck home,” said Barker. “What we saw this morning with those kids coming out and riding those bikes was really special. So that’s definitely something we’re going to take away.”
NFL officials were also extremely complimentary of local law enforcement’s role in planning and carrying out the draft.
“We have these large events all over the Untied States, internationally, and really working with a public safety team that is as well as an oiled machine as this public safety team here, it has just been amazing to work with this team,” said Cathy Lanier, NFL Chief Security Officer.
With actual crowd numbers blowing past the original projections, the same should happen for economic impact. Statewide, it was expected to be $94 million.
Both the NFL and Discover Green Bay are both going to be doing independent studies that should be released in the coming weeks.
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