With 2025 NFL draft in Green Bay, could Minneapolis be next in line?
MINNEAPOLIS --The NFL announced Monday the 2025 NFL draft will be held in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
With next year's draft in Detroit and Chicago having hosted back-to-back drafts in 2015 and 2016, there's only one city left on the league's tour of the NFC North. Could Minneapolis be in line to host a future draft?
Clearly size isn't a concern for the NFL. If Green Bay, a city of about 107,000 people, is big enough to accommodate the draft -- which drew 312,000 fans to Kansas City over three days this year, per the NFL -- Minneapolis is more than large enough.
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In addition, the NFL saw fit to give Minneapolis a Super Bowl in 2018 and is hosting its owners meeting here this year, so the league is willing to host large events in the city. The number one complaint for attendees of that Super Bowl was the weather -- per the Farmer's Almanac, the low on Feb. 4, 2018, in Minneapolis was 6 degrees below zero. Luckily, the draft isn't until late April. That doesn't guarantee attendees won't have to endure a late season snowstorm or some early thunderstorms, but it certainly increases the chances of a pleasant (enough) day.
As for where the draft would be hosted, the NFL typically shoots for an outdoor space to accommodate the large crowds. The obvious choice, should Minneapolis be gifted a draft, would be to close the streets surrounding U.S Bank Stadium and utilize The Commons. In addition to highlighting one of the league's premier facilities, that location would be easily accessible via public transit, is near enough to several of downtown Minneapolis' hotels and has food, drink and entertainment options nearby.
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It's really just a matter of time before Minneapolis gets a draft -- perhaps as soon as 2026, though there are other, larger cities with newer NFL stadiums that may be ahead of the Twin Cities in line, like Los Angeles and Atlanta.
After making the rounds at major cities in the early years, the NFL draft was held in various venues in New York from 1965-2014. Since then -- in addition to Chicago, Kansas City, Detroit and Green Bay -- Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland and Las Vegas have played host.