UPDATE: The Village of Ashwaubenon is on board to help out with a potential NFL Draft in Green Bay in 2025 or 2027.
The Village Board unanimously approved letters of support pledging to help provide services for the Draft, including public safety, public works, street closures, emergency evacuation plans, among other commitments.
"It'll be the largest event this community will ever have," Packers Director of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey said. "So, it will be a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and it will be a lasting impact."
Popkey spoke more in-depth about the three-day event to the Village Board.
He said the Draft would bring around $20 million to Brown County, and, in total, up to $90 million to the state.
Popkey estimated 240,000 people would attend over the course of the massive, three-day long event.
Every year, the Draft starts on a Thursday and ends on a Saturday.
Popkey said he thinks the first couple days would bring the most people.
"We know we'll get certainly a lot of out-of-towners, and then people from across the state that will drive in and make a day of it, in addition to those that will fill the hotel rooms for the whole weekend," Popkey said.
Popkey said a minimum number of hotel rooms would be reserved for the league.
"All the rooms outside of that will get filled up by attendees," Popkey said.
The cost to put on the Draft is between $6 to $7 million.
Popkey said the total cost includes staging, tents, third-party security, shuttling, and volunteers.
"It's a three-day event, but a multiple-week build up to," Popkey said.
Popkey said stage setup options include inside Lambeau Field or near the Resch Expo, but that decision is up to the NFL.
He said a rough footprint of the staging area would be within the boundaries of Lombardi Avenue, Holmgren Way, Mike McCarthy Way, Marlee Lane, along with other roads near the stadium.
"They could put their stage anywhere within that," Popkey said. "But, we think the places I mentioned make a lot of sense."
Village Manager Joel Gregozeski said he expects costs will be offset by additional room tax revenues.
But he also said there will be a need to bring law enforcement and other resources from outside the village to help out.
"Our officers, that's quite a burden on them to accommodate over that three-day period," Gregozeski said.
Brown County and the City of Green Bay are both in support to help provide for the NFL Draft.
According to the county, its executive signed letters of support on March 13 to help bring the Draft to Green Bay for either 2025 or 2027.
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Brown County and the City of Green Bay have already pledged their commitments to provide services for an NFL Draft in Green Bay.
According to the county, its executive signed letters of support on March 13 to help bring the Draft to Green Bay for either 2025 or 2027.
Ashwaubenon could be next in line to be a Draft partner.
The Village Board is set to consider letters of support to provide services for the Draft at its meeting Tuesday night.
Those services include public safety, public works, street closures, emergency evacuation plans, among other commitments.
The documents are similar to the ones Green Bay's Common Council unanimously voted in favor of last week.
According to the village agenda, the reason municipalities have to sign off on these letters of support is so that a complete, formal bid to the NFL can be made.
Green Bay and Ashwaubenon documents say the Draft in 2025 and 2027 would take place in mid-to-late April or early May.
