Green Bay City Council votes to unanimously approve NFL Draft Community Leader Agreements

GREEN BAY, Wis. (WBAY) - Green Bay City Council has approved the 2025 and 2027 community leader agreements for the NFL Draft Bid that will be submitted by the Green Bay Packers.

On March 14, the Green Bay Finance Committee approved the Green Bay Packers NFL Draft Community Leader Agreements for 2025 and 2027. These agreements outline a series of responsibilities the city would have to carry out and pay for if chosen to host the NFL Draft.

Aaron Popkey, Director of Public Affairs for the Green Bay Packers, said a Packers home game brings in around $15 million in one weekend. One weekend of hosting the NFL Draft would bring in more than $50 million and bring in more than 250,000 fans. Following the finance committee’s meeting, the main concern of the public was regarding the budget.

Popkey said the Packers have pledged $1 million towards the funding for the event. Other terms of money would come from its corporate partners such as Discover Green Bay and filing for community grants.

“But if we were to be fortunate enough to be selected then the NFL comes in and makes a determination of the campus and how things will lay out,” Popkey said. “At that point, we will get a further definition and idea of what the cost will be based on the campus, security, and public works, all the elements that go into it.”

Members of the Packers, including Popkey, have visited other cities that have hosted the draft, such as Las Vegas, and Cleveland, and will visit Kansas City in a few weeks, to see how those cities have set themselves up to host an event like this.

Popkey mentioned the NFL has to invite cities to apply to host the draft, so the unthinkable might just become possible.

“I think there is this romanticized view of Green Bay, richly deserved in terms of the history and tradition of pro football here,” Popkey said. “I think the NFL knows that would be part of the draft story in bringing a draft to a community that has the history so we have some unique attributes I think lend themselves well to the effort.”

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