The Cowboys are hosting the '18 NFL Draft at AT&T Stadium, and the league and team "have a good idea about how they are going to provide the largest setting in NFL history," according to Peter Dawson of the FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM. NFL Senior VP/Events Peter O’Reilly and Cowboys Exec VP & Chief Brand Officer Charlotte Jones Anderson said that the "tentative goal is to place the draft stage, the team tables and the waiting area for the players and families all into one end zone." Fans who purchase tickets for inside the stadium "will be able to see the player selection from their seats." Draft organizers for the first time "will 'create a standing deck environment that flows out into the plaza level' and open the end-zone doors so that fans can see into the stadium and some of the indoor activity will flow out into the NFL Draft Experience plaza and surrounding parking lots." In previous host cities, fans "were all funneled into crowded spaces in major downtown areas." Having the entirety of the event in Arlington "will provide the benefits of a central location for all potential attendees spread out" across the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Since the Draft began traveling to cites outside N.Y. in '15, the Dallas Sports Commission "was doing research into how the area could best accommodate the event if the NFL did contract them as a client." Since '14, Anderson and the Cowboys had "always made it known they wanted to bring the event to Dallas." Even as Philadelphia city officials "were making a strong case to bring the draft back to the city" in '18, Anderson, in conjunction with the other DFW organizing bodies, was "pitching more appealing options to O’Reilly and his team in the league office" (FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 11/29).
