ASHWAUBENON (NBC 26) — Just imagine how crowded Lombardi Avenue is going to be in two years when football fans pack Green Bay for the NFL Draft.
The Draft is taking place inside and around Lambeau Field and the Titletown District.
One restaurant in the middle of it: long-time Ashwaubenon staple Kroll's West.
"Every time we come up here, if we go to games and stuff, we try and come to Kroll's," South Milwaukee area resident Dan Luedtke said.
Luedtke said he will likely go to the Draft.
The Packers have said the three-day event is expected to draw 240,000 people and $94 million of economic impact to the state.
"I think anywhere you go to, it's going to be a long wait," Luedtke said. "So, if we're that hungry and stuff, this is a place we're going to go to. I'll take the risk."
Kroll's manager Julia Nolan said preparing for the NFL Draft will be like getting ready for a regular game weekend.
"We hope to fill up the bar, and have the Draft on, and treat it like a crazy, busy weekend and hope for the best," Nolan said.
Kroll's West has the capacity for hundreds of people.
Nolan said she needs to get ready for the Draft by preparing extra food and workers.
She said scheduling breaks for her employees will be challenging when the Draft is actually here.
"I'm very glad that we get over a year, almost two years, to prepare for it," Nolan said. "It's nerve wracking kind of thinking of the preparing for it. But we have so much time. Overall, I'm more excited that this is happening and we get to experience it, than I am worried about how it's going to go."
From filling up your stomachs to resting your head, hotels are also going to need to prepare for having enough rooms available.
According to their respective visitors bureaus, here's a look at approximately how many hotels rooms the following communities have:
- Green Bay: 4,600
- Fox Cities: 3,500
- Oshkosh: 1,000
- Fond du Lac & Waupun: 1,200
- Stevens Point: 950
- Milwaukee: 25,000
- Madison: 12,000
- Chicago: 46,000
The Packers and Discover Green Bay have remained tight-lipped about any further NFL Draft updates, but they are providing more information at a press conference on Wednesday morning at the Lambeau Field Atrium.
NBC 26 will have coverage of Wednesday's press conference. Be sure to check back to NBC 26 and NBC26.com for further updates.
