NFL eyes Chicago Theatre for draft
July 7, 2014
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20140707/BLOGS04/140709911/nfl-eyes-chicago-theatre-for-draft?r=7666I3085245D7RThe Loop is slated to be the center of the pro football world if Chicago wins its bid to host the NFL draft next year.
League officials were in town late last month and met with city and Chicago Theatre officials about staging the 2015 NFL Draft at the historic State Street venue, which would be the likely location for the annual event if it is held in Chicago, according to a source close to the search process.
The roughly 3,500-seat venue offers the best choice, because there are convention events going on around a similar venue -- the roughly 4,500-seat Arie Crown Theater -- during the late April and early May weekends under consideration.
Aside from the Chicago Theatre, other places in the Loop, such as Daley Plaza, likely would be a site to stage a fan festival, according to the source. Ancillary events could be held at Soldier Field or possibly in Millennium Park or Grant Park.
Chicago Theatre representatives didn't respond to a request for comment.
The NFL draft is on the move next year due to scheduling conflicts after being held at Radio City Music Hall in New York since 2006 and in the Big Apple every year since 1965.
New York, Chicago and Los Angeles have been reported as the league's primary targets to host the draft next year.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement that the league is evaluating "multiple sites in a number of cities" and that officials hope to determine the location this summer.
CROWDED AT MCCORMICK PLACE
The two extended weekends in play for the 2015 event are April 22-25 and April 29-May 2. The NFL is considering extending the draft to four days from three.
McCormick Place would offer the league the most space, rivaling the roughly 6,000 seats at Radio City Music Hall, but the Chicago convention center will be hosting the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo and the Automechanika automotive trade show during the earlier dates in the venue's north and west buildings, respectively.
During the latter dates, the city is under contract to host a manufacturing conference at the McCormick Place Hyatt Regency, which suggests that the convention center could be crowded then, too.
That leaves the Chicago Theatre, which is owned by Radio City parent company Madison Square Garden, and the Loop as the best locations, especially since the city could point to its work with the 2013 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, which included ample downtown signage and a fan event at Daley Plaza.
Chicago Sports Commission Interim Executive Director Kara Bachman declined to comment on potential host sites.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel has recently pushed for the NFL to bring the draft to Chicago in hopes of boosting tourism and putting Chicago on a big stage with the increasingly popular NFL showcase.
This year's draft saw a record 45.7 million TV viewers over the three draft days on ESPN, ESPN2 and the NFL Network, according to Nielsen, topping the previous record of 45.4 million viewers in 2010.
