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The NFL announced on Thursday that Denver, along with Cleveland-Canton, Kansas City, Las Vegas, and Nashville will be considered as hosts for the NFL Draft in either 2019 or 2020.
“It’s a competitive process, and we’re excited to move one step closer to bringing the NFL Draft to Denver,” Denver Broncos President & CEO, Joe Ellis said. “Working alongside VISIT DENVER and the Denver Sports Commission, we’re confident that Denver would be a tremendous host to showcase the draft and the NFL in a great football environment.”
The League will consider the bids and is expected to make a final decision during their Spring League Meeting in Atlanta that will take place from May 21-23, 2018.
Frankly, this has Las Vegas written all over it. With the Oakland Raiders soon moving to become the Las Vegas Raiders, it would be the perfect NFL hype to host the NFL Draft in Vegas to kick off their newly moved franchise in the area.
Though it would be nice to have Denver host the NFL Draft, I’m not going to hold my breath given other events all seemingly converging on Las Vegas in 2019 and 2020.
Even getting on the shortlist is something to be excited about, however. Denver may not win out for this bid, but perhaps they’ll be selected as the host of the NFL Draft sometime after 2020.
“As one of America’s best sports cities, we are optimistic that Denver can make a great case for hosting this marquis event,” said Matthew Payne, Executive Director of the Denver Sports Commission. “We are pleased to hear that Denver has made the shortlist of cities still under consideration to host the 2019 or 2020 Draft, and we look forward to further dialogue about the possibilities.”
It would be amazing to attend the NFL Draft in Denver. Hopefully these early discussions eventually lead to something tangible for the City of Denver.