GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The NFL’s consideration of a plan to move previously scheduled Sunday games to Thursdays on late notice isn’t sitting well with some businesses in the Green Bay area.
Under the plan, games in weeks 14-17 would be eligible to be switched. It’s an effort to provide more attractive matchups for the games being streamed on Amazon Prime.
“I think particularly with our fan base and the way people travel to Lambeau Field, flexing that Thursday night game could be, I think a real issue for our fans,” Green Bay Packers president/CEO Mark Murphy said. “We are against that but I know it’s a priority for league, kind of the future is streaming and they want Amazon to be successful but I think we have to be careful how we treat our fans in the stands.”
On game days, hotels are booked solid, and bars and restaurants are full of people. But the preparations must start days and weeks in advance.
“Not only are we getting extra stuff prepped for the week, anything we can prep ahead of time we prep ahead of time,” said Julia Nolan of Kroll’s West. “We have a big crew, we have a set up crew come in, we have tables and chairs outside.”
Nolan is concerned about the scheduling changes the restaurant across the street from Lambeau Field would have to make if a Packers home game would be moved from a Sunday to a Thursday — or vice versa.
“It’s just hard for us crew-wise because a lot of our crew is high schoolers, so we have a lot more on the weekends because they can work a lot longer on the weekends,” she said. “So, for us to have late-night games on a Thursday night I lose part of my crew because they can’t work all night.”
At the Hotel Northland in downtown Green Bay, discussions are underway with how to potentially deal with these changes.
“When you throw in a dynamic like a Thursday night flex, it’s much harder for us to strategize,” said general manager Ashley Kellam.
Management is hoping this proposal doesn’t go through because of the impact it could have on the industry and market as a whole.
“When you shift the date that they’re playing and completely move the week of revenue it’s much harder for us to protect ourselves because we don’t have the ability to host other large-size events in Green Bay,” Kellam said.
It’s not just businesses that find fault in these potential schedule changes. Fans aren’t happy with the way they could be impacted, either.
“Not a fan of it at all. Leave the schedule the way it is for people planning on coming to games, traveling in,” said Tim Gantz of De Pere. “Even just as a resident here, if I was going, having to change plans like that it seems to be about making the money. I’d certainly prefer just leaving the games as scheduled.”
“I think for the fans, flexing games, like if you were planning on playing a Sunday game it ruins travel plans especially for me, like Lambeau Field when you’re planning on coming up on a Sunday and they flex it to a Thursday that would be horrible,” said Michael Bishop of Illinois.
If these changes are made to the scheduling, businesses in Green Bay will obviously adjust, but say fans may not have the same customer service experience as they would expect for a regular Sunday game.
NFL owners tabled discussion on the scheduling plan at their meeting last month, but league officials say it could come up for a vote next month.
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