Report: Minneapolis in the running as new NFL Combine host site
Each year at the end of February draft prospects and the NFL world flock to Indianapolis for the annual NFL Combine.
It's an event that has been put on by the league since 1982 and has been in Indianapolis since 1987. That may be changing though.
Like the Super Bowl and NFL Draft before it, the NFL is exploring the idea of different locations for the annual Combine. According to Tennessee Titans reporter Paul Kuharsky, Minneapolis was one of four cities invited to send representatives to Indy to discuss the possibility of hosting the Combine. The other three cities were Nashville, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
The City of Indianapolis' deal with the NFL to host the Combine only runs through 2025.
Sep 1, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; General view of U.S. Bank Stadium with Minneapolis downtown skyline as backdrop during a NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Minnesota Vikings.
© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
U.S. Bank Stadium is regularly cited as one of the best stadiums in the league and the most recent NFLPA team report card said the teams "facilities are incredible."
Minneapolis is also home to over 9,000 hotel rooms and a convention center that has 475,000 square feet of exhibition space, which wasn't good enough for the NBA's new All-Star game hosting requirements but were good enough for a Super Bowl.
Kuharsky noted that having things in a centralized location could be a factor in finding a new location. If that's the case, Minneapolis' offer may be hurt by the distance between U.S. Bank Stadium, TCO Performance Center and the Minneapolis Convention Center.
