GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The stadium district board agreed to pay up to $1.2 million for the costs of hosting the NFL Draft.
The Green Bay Packers are focusing on landing the three-day event in 2025 or 2027. Lambeau Field is hosting a Wisconsin-Notre Dame football game in 2026, so the team is avoiding targeting that year.
The Packers have said it will cost $6-7 million to host the event. The team will contribute $1 million, but the rest of the money will need to come from other sources.
At its meeting Monday, the Green Bay-Brown County Professional Football Stadium District reiterated its plan to use 50% of its revenues from bowl events through 2027 to fund the project, up to $1.2 million.
Team spokesman Aaron Popkey said the team is “prepared and optimistic” that it will get good news during the league meetings in May, with 2025 still a strong possibility. The formal bid will be submitted to the league this week.
The team may seek state aid, plus there are other corporate partners who will support the draft in the “six figure” range but Popkey said he’s not ready to public identify them yet.
At a meeting last week, the Green Bay City Council agreed to a terms sheet outlining municipal responsibilities for the event.
Once traditionally held in New York City, the NFL Draft is now a travelling event. Las Vegas hosted last year, with this year’s event in Kansas City. Detroit will host in 2024.
No date for the 2025 event has been finalized, but the options are April 17-19, April 24-26 or May 1-3. In 2027, the possible dates are April 15-17, April 22-24 or April 29-May 1.
The team has said the event would likely bring in roughly 250,000 people over the course of three days. The state could expect to see an economic impact of $90 million — roughly six times as much as a typical game-day weekend. Green Bay alone is expected to see $50 million.
Popkey said there will be no bowl events this year. The scoreboard renovations work precluded a soccer game, and efforts to land a concert were unsuccessful.
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