Twenty-three cities "want to host" the NFL Draft in '18, and the league is "considering turning the burgeoning fan festival into a multicity event," according to Daniel Kaplan of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The NFL "projects that more than 200,000 fans will attend the event in Philadelphia this week." For the last two years the NFL staged the Draft in Chicago's Grant Park, and "could keep the player selection spectacle in Philadelphia next year." NFL Senior VP/Events Peter O'Reilly said the 23 interested cities includes Canton, home to the Pro Football HOF. For Philadelphia, the cost is $25M, the "bulk of which is borne by the league." Because of the "surge in interest to host the event, the NFL may spread a single draft among different cities." Some rounds are already "announced at team sites across the country." Rather than do that, those rounds "could fold into a draft festival in a second locale." Kaplan writes the application process is "evolving." For the Super Bowl, it is a "cumbersome, requirement-heavy affair for bids, while the league is just feeling its way on the draft." O'Reilly said, "We are taking it slowly. It’s only year three into this new model" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/24 issue). In L.A., Sam Farmer reports representatives from 15 NFL cities and Canton will attend the Draft "hoping to host" next year's event. Although L.A. has "bid on the event before, and likely will land it when the Inglewood stadium is finished, it will not be among attending suitors" (L.A. TIMES, 4/27).
