NFL Draft campus in Green Bay reaches capacity and admission is paused, April 24, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The NFL Draft campus around Lambeau Field reached capacity less than an hour before selections began Thursday night.
League commissioner Roger Goodell announced that more than 125,000 people were in attendance. For comparison, the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimate puts the city of Green Bay’s population at 105,744.
The NFL says the official attendance for the first night of the draft was more than 200,000 fans.
In a sea of football fans parked in front of the NFL Draft stage, 11-year-old Cam Ruetz of Whitefish Bay had a plan for seeing the action.
“Probably having my dad lift me up so I can see,” he said.
He was also ready in case any fans wearing the wrong colors got in his way.
“There’s a lot of Bears fans. Bears suck. Same with the Vikings,” he said.
One thing everyone by the stage had in common? They were thankful they arrived when they did.
Thousands of fans were on the outside looking in.
“It’s rough,” said Chad Shulfer of Green Bay. “We got a lot of people coming from out of town. Unfortunately, we were not able to get too close.”
Some fans even watched the draft on their phone, waiting for gates to reopen.
“I’m not much for crowds, so it’s fine with me, to be honest,” said Bryan Ludwikoski of Madison.
Inside, the atmosphere was about what you’d expect.
“The ‘Go Pack Go,’ ‘the Bears still suck,’ you can’t beat it,” said Greg Frey of Colgate.
“The Packers are representing,” said Stephanie McIntyre of Suamico.
The gates did reopen at about 7:40 p.m.
This isn’t new, as the capacity to the theater area also was briefly reached last year in Detroit and the year before in Kansas City.
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