When Will The NFL Draft Make Its Return To Music City?

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Lower Broadway during the 2019 NFL Draft. Photo: Courtesy of Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp

It’s NFL Draft week and coaches and general managers from across the league are finishing up their game plans for Thursday night.

Many organizations spend the entire year scouting and planning for the draft as the future of the franchise can rely so heavily on which young player is selected. Along with the 32 teams, the host city spends years planning and organizing the three big nights for football fans across the country.

Nashville hosted the draft in 2019 in what was the most fan involved NFL Draft ever. Among the festivities were concerts, interactive events, plus the many bars on Broadway. It was the highest attended draft and proved Nashville as a legitimate sports city.

Music City’s draft brought in 600,000 fans and 47.5 million TV viewers, making it the highest rated, attended, and watched NFL Draft in history.

Both the NFL and city walked away with millions of dollars. The draft created $10.6 million in tax revenue and fees with 54 percent of attendees visiting from outside Nashville and staying an average of 2.8 nights, according to The Tennessean. The revenue was up 79 percent the year before when it was hosted at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Both the city and the NFL want the draft to come back to Music City, so it isn’t a question of if but when.

Between 1965 and 2014, every NFL Draft was hosted in New York City. Since then, the NFL has brought the draft to other major NFL cities. This year’s host is Las Vegas who will also be hosting the Super Bowl next year. With the city’s brand new stadium, Allegiant Arena which houses the Raiders, it has become a hot spot and has attracted many events.

2023’s host city will be Kansas City and Detroit will host the 2024 draft.

In 2020, reports were made regarding Nashville planning to bid for the 2024 or 2025 NFL Draft. The 2024 draft host city is set but 2025 will be a top option. Green Bay lost its bid to Detroit for 2024, so their eyes will be set for 2o25 and will most likely push very hard.

If Nashville fails to secure a bid for 2025, they next best option may be 2027 or 2028. Music City is currently pushing extremely hard to host a 2026 World Cup match at Nissan Stadium. If the city were to host a game or two, it would pass on the draft as FIFA would want 100 percent of planning and dedication going to the World Cup.

A new Titans stadium would also change everything. If a stadium were to be built by 2026 or 2027, Nashville wouldn’t just host an NFL Draft, but also an NFL Combine and, most importantly, a Super Bowl.

There are still some things that need to be cleared up before any of these questions are answered, but if the NFL is smart, they will most definitely be back and the city will make it bigger than ever.

Steven Boero
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