Bigger In Texas: Cowboys AT&T Stadium Selected As Host For 2018 NFL Draft
By Barry Janoff
October 18, 2017: The NFL may only be seven weeks into the 2017 season, but it is already planning for the 2018 NFL Draft.
The three-day event, scheduled for April 26-28, will be held in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, home for the Dallas Cowboys.
The league said this would be the first time in its history that the Draft is being held in an NFL stadium.
According to the league, the Draft site will include the field, stands and outdoor plazas, “creating an all-encompassing atmosphere and enabling more fans than ever before to watch their favorite team’s selections.”
AT&T Stadium, the site of Super Bowl XLV in 2011, has a capacity in excess of 100,000.
The venue hosted WWE's WrestleMania 32 on April 3, 2016, which has an announced attendance of 101,763..
The three-day 2017 NFL Draft was held in Philadelphia, attended by a record-breaking 250,000 fans, according to the NFL.
“Philadelphia raised the bar by taking the Draft to another level, and this new opportunity in Dallas will enable us to continue the event’s evolution and grow it even further,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in naming the venue during a media conference following the NFL fall league meetings in New York.
“We are grateful to the Dallas Cowboys, the cities of Arlington, Dallas and Frisco, and the Dallas Sports Commission for their leadership in turning this vision into reality. We are all very excited to be going to Dallas next April for the Draft,” said Goodall.
According to the NFL, as part of the event, the free fan-fest NFL Draft Experience Presented by Dannon Oikos Triple Zero would be located in the plazas directly outside the stadium.
Events will include football drills, interactive exhibits, autograph sessions and a Vince Lombardi Trophy exhibit.
Additional activation details will be released closer to the event.
The NFL said its 2017 Draft “generated more than $94 million in economic impact for Philadelphia, surpassing initial projections and supporting an estimated 30,000 local jobs.”
The first NFL Draft was held in Philadelphia in 1936.
After moving to several cities through 1964, it was held in New York at various sites from 1965-2014, then moved to Chicago in 2015-16 and Philadelphia in 2017.
The 2018 NFL Draft will air live on ESPN and NFL Network.
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