Packers’ Mark Murphy: NFL Draft Will Have Huge Economic Impact

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Green Bay Packers President Mark Murphy’s quest to host the NFL Draft never was about the Green Bay Packers.

Rather, it was about the Green Bay community, the region and even the state.

“I think it’ll be a three-day commercial, not just for Green Bay but for the entire state,” he said before hopping on a bus for the team’s 19th Tailgate Tour on Tuesday morning. “So many different things that are unique and special to Wisconsin.”

As the countdown clock in the Lambeau Field Atrium is quick to remind, the first round of the NFL Draft will start in 16 days. The draft theater is under construction on the corner of Lombardi Avenue and Oneida Street, seemingly rising from the asphalt in the blink of an eye.

“It’s funny,” Murphy said, “because I was down in Florida for league meetings, so I hadn’t seen everything and, all of a sudden when I came back, just seeing everything that’s built up, and we’ve still got a couple weeks to go. It’s pretty impressive how quickly the league has come in and started to put things up. You can see it’ll definitely be ready when the draft comes.”

The Packers are hosting the draft, but this will be an NFL production. The league held the NFL Draft in New York for a half-century before taking the show on the road beginning in 2015 in Chicago.

With Murphy the driving force, the Packers made a couple bids to host the event before finally breaking through to host this year’s draft. The Titletown District, one of Murphy’s signature accomplishments during his tenure, and the opening of the Resch Expo Center across the street from the stadium, which will be home to media operations and the prospect Green Room, helped push Green Bay over the finish line.

“It’s the league’s event and they’ve run it for a number of years now, and they’ve really got it down,” Murphy said. “But there are some things that are kind of unique to Green Bay that we’ll have to work through. But we’re really excited about it.”

Because the draft is an NFL event, money from concessions and retail will flow back to league coffers, no different than a Super Bowl. While the team won’t necessarily benefit – sorry, there will be no additional money to spend in free agency next year – it will be a huge deal for the economy.

According to Murphy, the draft will provide a statewide economic impact of $95 million, including about $20 million to greater Green Bay. The event could bring a quarter of a million visitors to the city.

“We are very excited and honored they decided to hold the draft here,” Murphy said. “It really started when they took it on the road, so we started talking to the league. ‘What about Green Bay, especially with our history and tradition and Lambeau Field.’ The issue has always been hotel rooms. We’re going to have fans staying all over the state. But really excited. Not only it’s great for our fans, but the economic impact.”

As he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70, Murphy’s last Tailgate Tour as team president is filled with draft euphoria, which stands in stark contrast to his first, which was filled with turmoil, as he recalled on Tuesday.

“My first one was pretty memorable,” Murphy said. “It was June 2008. Right as we started out on the Tailgate Tour, Brett Favre changed his mind and unretired, so every single stop, there were literally dozens of reporters at every stop. No, it’s been a lot of fun. I do think it’s something that really sets us apart from other professional sports organizations that we do something like this.”

The Tailgate Tour was started by Murphy’s predecessor, Bob Harlan. It’s a tradition that’s going strong. From Green Bay on Tuesday, Murphy, tight end Tucker Kraft, defensive end Lukas Van Ness and some team alumni were scheduled to drive through De Pere and Fond du Lac before a Tuesday night event in Milwaukee.

Wednesday will end in Madison, Thursday will end in La Crosse and Friday will reach Marshfield before arriving back in Green Bay for an event on Saturday morning.

Why is this so important? Certainly, the Packers – one of the most popular sports teams in the country – don’t need to spend days on the road stocking shelves at a food pantry, talking to students or visiting an assisted-living facility.

“For me,” Murphy said, “it kind of personifies what’s special about the Packers. We’re a community-owned team. We have a stronger connection to our fans. There’s nothing more exciting than when we’re pulling up to a school where we have a surprise visit and seeing the excitement on the kids’ faces.

“It’s really just an opportunity to thank our fans. We’re very fortunate. Every team in the league says they have the best fans, but I think we’re the ones that can really say it and know that it’s true.”

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