The 2015 NFL Draft was held in Chicago this year and according to a Tuesday morning report by Adam Schefter of ESPN, that’s where the 2016 NFL Draft will also take place.
Many believed that the league would start holding the annual selection of future players in other NFL cities moving forward after moving it away from New York this past year, but that won’t be the case, at least not initially.
Tuesday afternoon, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will hold a joint press conference to official announce that the 2016 NFL Draft will once again be taking place in Chicago on April 28-30.
According to the Chicago Tribune, roughly 200,000 visitors attended the free fan festival in Chicago’s Grant Park this year. Additionally, a study released last month that was performed by the Sport Industry Research Center at Temple University and commissioned by Choose Chicago indicated the direct economic impact of the draft on Chicago at nearly $44 million. That included hotel revenue, dining, sales tax revenue and temporary jobs.
At some point, I would like to see all 32 NFL cities get a shot at hosting the draft as much like the Super Bowl, the economic impact would be great.
