One year after holding its draft virtually, the NFL is returning to a venue.
Monday, they announced the draft will be held at various Cleveland locations — including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Great Lakes Science Center and the Browns’ stadium — from April 29-May 1.
The league said a “select” number of prospects will participate in person, while others will log in virtually. Commissioner Roger Goodell will announce the first-round results from the main stage, with Lake Erie in the backdrop.
“We are thrilled to be heading to Cleveland for the NFL Draft, which has become one of the most highly anticipated events in sports,” NFL executive vice president Peter O’Reilly said in a release.
The draft will be broadcast in prime time on Thursday and Friday nights and throughout most of the day Saturday.
Originally scheduled to be in Las Vegas, last year’s draft was instead conducted virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Goodell read off draft selections from a chair in his Bronxville, New York basement, while prospects gathered in front of cameras in their homes.
Cleveland was selected as the home of the 2021 draft before the pandemic, though the league didn’t confirm its plans to stay there until Monday. Las Vegas will be the home of the draft in 2022.
