Packers Vying to Host NFL Draft, Big Ten Football Championship

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers were hopeful they’d be hosting the 2022 NFL Draft. Instead, COVID happened. Las Vegas, which had been granted the 2020 draft, was given 2022.

During Thursday’s virtual shareholders meeting, Packers President/CEO Mark Murphy said the team is one of three finalists to host in 2024.

“We’ll never host a Super Bowl. That’s the reality, and I do think the league is looking at teams and cities that will be unable to host Super Bowls,” Murphy told reporters afterward. “One way to reward them and their community, especially with the support they’ve provided teams and their communities, is to award them the draft. If you look at it, after almost 30 years in New York, every year they’re moving it around. I’m optimistic. I think we have a good opportunity. When you look at the number of people who were in Philadelphia, especially, I think Nashville was really big, too, it’s going to be a little bit of a challenge for us but it’ll be a different type (of draft). I think it’ll be an awful lot of people driving in from Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago.”

Bolstering Green Bay’s chances is the construction of the new Brown County Expo Center, which is going up across the street from Lambeau Field. The 125,000-square-foot facility comes with a $93 million price tag. It is schedule to open in January. Plus, the Titletown complex continues to grow to the west side of the stadium.

“I think our community has a lot to offer. Certainly from a history and tradition standpoint, the fact that Lambeau Field is such an attraction,” Murphy said.

The pandemic has created havoc across the globe, and sports are no exception. COVID-19 wiped out offseason practices and the preseason, and turned the annual shareholders meeting into an online event. The Packers still don’t have an official reporting date for training camp and games will be played in front of greatly reduced crowds. COVID also canceled the Wisconsin-Notre Dame football game scheduled for Oct. 3 at Lambeau.

“We’re working through it,” Murphy said of rescheduling the game. “These football schedules are done a while in advance but (Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez) seemed to really want to (reschedule), and I would say Jack Swarbrick from Notre Dame feels the same way that they want to have a game at Lambeau Field. Barry, especially, talked about how much he and the Badgers fans really enjoyed the LSU game here in 2016.”

Meanwhile, along with hoping to host the draft, the Packers will be applying to host a Big Ten Championship Game, Murphy said. First played in 2011, all nine games have been played in Indianapolis, and the contract with the city runs through the 2021 season. New Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren has said the conference would consider playing the game at different locations. Murphy said the team will vie to host a game between 2023 and 2030.

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