Philadelphia is the "leading candidate to replace Chicago as host" of the NFL Draft in '17, according to sources cited by Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Sources said that the league "had been considering" both Philadelphia and L.A. This year's Draft, which begins tonight, marks the second straight time Chicago has served as host after N.Y. served as the site the previous 59 years (ESPN.com, 4/27). NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday said the league has not made a final decision on the '17 Draft site, but acknowledged it has a "lot of interest from other cities based on the success that happened in Chicago" last year. Goodell: "They all want to take their shot at it and take the draft to another level." He said the NFL would "like to be able to rotate" the event among different sites. However, Goodell noted, "It doesn't mean we won't be back [in Chicago]" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 4/28). Goodell also addressed the Draft's future on Fox Sports Radio's "The Herd" yesterday, saying, "We had close to 250,000 fans here last year, and what's happened is it set a new standard which other communities have said we'd like to be part of that." He said, "When we're done with this Draft we'll sit down, take a look at what's working, where we go next. But the whole attempt is to continue to build it and bring it to as many fans as possible” ("The Herd," Fox Sports Radio, 4/27).
MR. POPULARITY: THE MMQB's Emily Kaplan reported "more than half of the league's cities, plus Canton," informed the NFL that they want to host the Draft. NFL Senior VP/Events Peter O'Reilly said, "Given what we've learned in the move from New York City to Chicago, clearly a number of cities raised their hands to say they're interested. We'd love to share the vision for what the new normal is. ... It's possible the draft could be in a different city every year -- or even multiple cities in the same year." Meanwhile, several agents indicated that there has been a "more concerted effort to lure top prospects to Chicago" this year after Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, the top two picks last year, did not attend the Draft. Twenty-five players are "expected to be at the Draft," including the presumed top two picks -- QBs Jared Goff and Carson Wentz (MMQB.SI.com, 4/26).
BIG FISH IN A LITTLE POND: In Green Bay, Richard Ryman in a front-page piece reported while the odds "are reasonably long," the Packers "would like to host an NFL draft." While the team is not a finalist for either the '17 or '18 Drafts, Packers Dir of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey said that '19 "would be a good year to host because the Titletown District will be open and the team will celebrate its 100th anniversary." Ryman noted the NFL is "focused on market size, media market ranking, market attractiveness to sponsors, to media and to fans, and in-market support." Popkey: "We focused on the uniqueness of Green Bay and the history of football here. While other cities have larger spaces or more hotel rooms, no other city would focus its attention on the draft like Green Bay would" (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE, 4/27).
