Everything about this year's NFL Draft in Chicago "will be transformed into an entertainment experience for fans both in the city and at home," according to Bryan Fischer of NFL.com. Many of the familiar components of the draft "will be housed in the historic Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, while the aptly named Draft-Town will take much of the fun outside and among the fans who are hanging on each pick." Teams for the first time ever "will make their picks in tents along Michigan Avenue in 'Selection Square.'" Next to their familiar team tables, all 32 NFL clubs "will be represented with a distinct space that celebrates the culture of their franchise and the fans that root the team on." Fans also "will be free to explore many of the numerous other activities going on in Grant Park and the adjoining Congress Plaza from April 30-May 2." NFL Senior VP/Events Peter O'Reilly said, "We'll have a team area that's customized where fans of that team can gather, and we'll even have a combine-type setup where fans can run the 40 and pick a number of players to run against them on a screen alongside them." NFL Network and ESPN "will once again broadcast the draft." Each network "will feature two sets this year -- one inside the theater and another in Grant Park." The sets on the Grant Park site "will be surrounded by 32 team tables, where officials from each club will be seated and relaying their picks across the red carpet on Michigan Avenue and back into the Auditorium Theatre to be announced" (NFL.com, 3/4). In Chicago, Dan Wiederer reports there are plans to "light up Buckingham Fountain in the colors of the team currently on the clock." Drafted players invited to Chicago for the event "will make their way to the ESPN and NFL Network sets in Grant Park once they're finished with their theater obligations." With limited seating available -- the league is "estimating a capacity of 3,000 theater attendees -- the draft's expansion into the surrounding park environment will open the experience to a wider audience" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/5).
