League's smallest city ready to make big impact as Green Bay hosts the draft
NEW YORK, April 22 (Reuters) - The smallest city in the NFL will host the league's biggest off-season event beginning on Thursday, as tens of thousands are expected to descend upon Wisconsin when Green Bay hosts the draft for the first time.
The town of just 105,000 could see a crowd many times that size for the three-day event where players' and fans' hopes are delivered or dashed, and the tension of the United States' biggest sport continues long after the final snap of the season.
"Obviously we are the smallest NFL city but I think we've got the greatest heart," said Mayor Eric Genrich, who met with members of the media this week.
It is a sentimental honor for the city steeped in football history and their beloved Green Bay Packers, whose late coach Vince Lombardi brought home the first Super Bowl win and after whom the NFL's ultimate prize is now named.
Green Bay is unlikely ever to play host to the title game but it will make the most of the 90th NFL Draft, where Miami's Heisman finalist Cam Ward is expected to go first overall to the Tennessee Titans.
The first night of the draft kicks off on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET (+1day 0000 GMT) set against the backdrop of Lambeau Field, with an NFL Draft Experience set for fans inside the home of the Green Bay Packers.
"They love football there. But I think it's going to be bigger than just Green Bay," said NFL Network's draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah.
"I think you're going to see people from all around the Midwest pouring in there, I think people are going to be flying in from all over the country."
NFL officials declined to comment on how many visitors they expected, though Green Bay's Midwestern neighbor Detroit saw a record attendance of more than 700,000 last year, with fans of all 32 clubs representing.
The draft has rotated through multiple cities since the NFL ended New York's five-decade-long reign as host in 2015, with the 2020 draft going virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This is our Super Bowl. That's what it is," said Aaron Popkey, the director of public affairs for the Packers.
"The idea of the draft was something that they could bring to communities that wouldn't necessarily get the Super Bowl."
'PLANS IN PLACE'
Prices for hotels and vacation rentals surged through the city's downtown this week and NFL officials said they were ready to show off the unique local culture, from Polka to quilting circles.
"We want to make sure we're dispelling any notions of what people think Wisconsin is. Sometimes there's tropes around it - we certainly have dealt with this in other cities that we're in," Nicki Ewell, senior director of events for the NFL, told reporters.
"We want to make sure we make the state of Wisconsin proud of what we're going to produce over three days."
Hosting an outdoor event in an unpredictable climate like Green Bay - where conditions can fluctuate wildly between chilly winter weather and comfortable springtime temperatures - has not been without its challenges.
"You have to have plans in place if you have lightning or severe storm or high winds coming through. We have to take the entire draft blueprint and make sure we have really solid plans where to send people, how to communicate," Ralph Ennis, the NFL's security lead for the draft, told reporters.
"This time of year in Green Bay, we know it could be 60 (degrees Fahrenheit) one day and 30 the next so it's a lot of contingencies we have to have in place."
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