Draft-related tourism in Green Bay is leaving a notable economic impact as the city hosts the 2025 NFL Draft. This event has drawn a record-breaking crowd of 600,000 over its three-day span, leading to significant spending at local businesses.
Brad Toll, CEO of Discover Green Bay, highlighted the mission to boost local tourism. “It’s our mission to bring visitors to Green Bay for the economic benefit of our community. You can’t bring too many more visitors to your community than to host the NFL Draft,” said Toll. An economic impact study is being conducted to assess factors like hotel occupancy and visitor expenditure.
Apart from direct economic benefits, hosting the Draft offers extensive exposure through media coverage. “It’s a three-day commercial that is seen by 55 million people and that’s terrific for a community,” explained Toll. The city is gathering visitor feedback from the event to inform future tourism strategies and promotional campaigns.
Discover Green Bay aims to leverage the successful hosting of the Draft to attract other sizable events. “They’re looking at your destination saying ‘Wow if they can host a draft, they can likely host my event too,'” Toll noted.
Pittsburgh, set to host the 2026 NFL Draft, is keen on learning from Green Bay’s experience. Toll mentioned, “Detroit was wonderful to us, an open book, and we will do the same for Pittsburgh.” Jeremy Waldrup, President of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, affirmed, “We have a lot to learn from Green Bay and Detroit.”
Waldrup’s organization is planning to improve downtown Pittsburgh for the event. “We’re gritty, we’re authentic, but this is an opportunity to really shine, so we want to make sure we are preparing our restaurants and retailers for a meaningful and economically beneficial experience,” he stated.
Visit PITTSBURGH CEO Jerad Bachar emphasized that the Draft will enhance Pittsburgh’s appeal. “The ability to build brand Pittsburgh in a bigger way,” he said. The event is projected to bring a $200+ million impact, with an expected attendance of 500,000 to 700,000 people. Investment in areas like Market Square District and State-planned improvements to Point State Park aim to ensure enduring benefits. “Those investments will live on far beyond the Draft, really impacting positively our residents and future visitors,” Bachar added.
