NFL draft will return to Chicago in 2016, centering around ‘Draft Town’
SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel announced Tuesday at the NFL owners meeting that the 2016 NFL draft is returning to Chicago.
Chicago hosted the 2015 NFL draft — the first time the Windy City had held the event in more than 51 years. It was considered a success because of the way the city rolled out the proverbial red carpet for the league and the results were mostly positive after New York had held the draft the previous half-century.
“We’re coming back to Chicago for the draft in May of 2016,” Goodell said during a break at the owners meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Tuesday. “They’ve earned it. … They did an absolutely extraordinary job. We are thrilled to be back.”
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“You’ve made the Second City the first choice again,” Emmanuel said. “The NFL draft is a world-class event, and it’s happening in a world-class city here in Chicago.”
TV ratings were down for the 2015 event, but the “Draft Town” held across from the Auditorium Theatre in Grant Park was considered a huge success by league officials and will be a centerpiece of the 2016 event, too. In an NFL press release, it indicated that there will be events in the week leading up to the draft outside the venue — once it’s selected.
The league has not decided if it will return to Roosevelt University, but Choose Chicago CEO Don Welsh said it is focused on a venue close to Grant Park with a similar setup to this past draft and that the Auditorium Theatre has not been ruled out.
The 2015 draft was paid for without taxpayer assistance, as the 2016 draft will not be. It helped generate an estimated total economic impact, per the league, of $81.6 million and drew more than 200,000 fans from around the country.
Future draft cities will be selected on an annual basis, and Welsh said that Chicago “absolutely” will be in the mix. He also indicated that New York was “not really” in consideration to host in 2016 and that Radio City Music Hall did not speak with the league formally about making a big to have the draft return there next year.
There had been widespread speculation that Los Angeles might host the 2016 draft as a way to showcase the city for a team (or teams) possibly relocating there next season. But with the L.A. possibility still in doubt, Chicago made sense as a sure-thing location to host the three-day event.
The owners from the 32 member clubs are meeting Tuesday to discuss the future of the league in L.A., with presentations from the St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders on their current stadium situations, plus updates from the prospective Carson and Inglewood stadium proposals for relocation.
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm
