Packers are "in the mix" to host the 2019 NFL Draft, says Mark Murphy

[Da-news-now]

The NFL Draft will not be coming to Green Bay in the next two years, but there is still a decent possibility that it could be held there in the future.

The Green Bay Packers are located in the smallest market in all of North America's major professional sports. As such, Lambeau Field and Green Bay as a whole have not been selected to host a Super Bowl, due in large part to a perceived lack of infrastructure.

Up until a few years ago, the thought of hosting an NFL Draft in Green Bay was ludicrous, if only because the league had held that event at Radio City Music Hall for decades. That all changed in 2015, however, when the Draft was moved to Chicago - it has now been held downtown in the Windy City the past two years, but it is apparently going out for bids into the future.

Packers president Mark Murphy has been on the record in the past saying that the team would be interested in hosting the draft in the future and in the past he mentioned the new Titletown District development, which would likely be a big step forward towards events such as that. It now appears that Green Bay is indeed a candidate to host the draft sometime in the next few years - so reports NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, who caught up with Murphy during the NFL's spring owner's meetings:

Talked with #Packers President Mark Murphy about hosting the draft. They're in the mix for '19, after not making final list for '17 or '18

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 24, 2016​

The hallowed halls of Lambeau Field would make for a fascinating venue for the draft, and the event would also likely need to involve the Resch Center across the street. However, it seems likely that the long-term schedule for the Titletown District combined with interest from other cities like Los Angeles and Chicago (again) are primary reasons for Green Bay to be excluded from consideration in the next two years.

As Murphy indicated, though, keep your eyes on 2019, when the developments should be fully wrapped up, better allowing for an influx of NFL fans, players, and media in the spring.

Continue reading @http://www.acmepackingcompany.com/ ...

 

[GBP4EVER]

I would like to hear though from sources outside the Packers if they really are in the running for 2019 or if this is Murphy and the Packers trying to work to be considered for 2019.

 

[57packer]

Weather in G.B. in late April can be pretty tough. It doesn't make sense to me to talk about using the Titletown district as an outdoor venue in April. Much like what happened in Chicago this past draft, the weather can turn bad and stay bad for days on end.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see it in Green Bay, but I'm not sure that it's such a viable option if the NFL wants to turn it into an "event" with outdoor activities in addition to the indoor draft site. They never had much of an outdoor scene when it was in New York so maybe that's not crucial, but it's interesting that they did use outdoor venues in Chicago and Murphy is mentioning it for GB. Perhaps that is the new model for the event, in which case I think cities like Baltimore, Wash DC, K.C., Denver would all be better options in late April along with the obvious warm weather locations like Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, L.A.,etc.

 

[GBP4EVER]

I think if it does not happen in 2019 in GB it might never happen. 2019 is the 100th anniversary of the team so it would be a way to "kickoff" the team celebrating it's 100th year. The NFL loves to market the tradtion of the Packers so perhaps they give the draft to GB using the Packers 100th as a way to promote the draft.

 

[Cheesedog]

are there enough hotel rooms in the Green Bay area to handle the draft?

 

[GBP4EVER]

are there enough hotel rooms in the Green Bay area to handle the draft?

If they would say max out around 100K with a lot of people being local or being able to drive back home I think it would be like a normal game and between GB and Appleton it could handle the crowd.