GREEN BAY, Wis. — It’s taken years of work to bring the NFL Draft to Green Bay.
With a little more than two weeks left until the event kicks off, the league and the Green Bay Packers are close to pushing the event over the goal line.
“The league is excited about it, too, because it’s so different than the other cities that have hosted it,” Mark Murphy, Packers president and CEO, said Tuesday.
Murphy, a group of current Packers players and team alumni set off on a week-long Tailgate Tour of the state.
Over the past few decades, the draft has evolved into a mammoth event. Officials expect between 250,000 and 300,000 people will attend the three-day event at — and around — Lambeau Field.
Murphy said there is plenty of local flavor infused in the event which is expected to have a roughly $95 million statewide economic impact.
“I think it will be a three-day commercial not just for Green Bay, but for the entire state,” he said. “There are so many different things that are unique and special to Wisconsin. You’ll see that as a part of it.”
Murphy said he’ll stay focused on the team when the Packers are on the clock making player picks.
“I will be in the draft room, but I’m going to want to get out and look and see what’s going on,” he said. “It’s not just the three days of the draft, there’s quite a bit around it.”
The draft will be memorable to players and residents alike.
Packers defensive end Lukas Van Ness said the draft is a career milestone for young players. He was a 2023 first-round pick by the Packers.
“At this point you just have to trust the process,” he said about waiting for draft date. “There’s a lot of nervousness, emotions. I’m sure a lot of guys are pretty anxious, but ultimately you left it all out there and you’ve just got to hope it all works out on draft day.”
A third-round pick for the Packers in 2023, tight end Tucker Kraft, recalled his draft day spent with about 250 people in an airport hanger.
“Luke Musgrave, he was drafted before me, so I’d completely crossed Green Bay off the possibilities. I saw the caller ID on my phone, and I just said, ‘No way,’” he said. “What an opportunity and I landed right exactly where I needed to be. Green Bay being the smallest city for a franchise to be in happens to be the largest city I’ve ever lived in.”
