The Cleveland Browns’ bid to host the 2021 draft won out over more than half the league and was officially announced as the winner today at the league meetings in Key Biscayne, Florida.
It’s a huge victory for both the Browns and the city of Cleveland. Since the NFL opted to leave the longtime home at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the 2015 draft, the event has exploded into a major tourist attraction and revenue source. Over 600,000 people flocked to Nashville, Tenn., last month for this year’s edition.
Even in terrible weather in Chicago in 2016, over 200,000 (including my family of four) attended the event on the lakefront, which figures to be a bit of a blueprint for how a Great Lakes team with a lakefront stadium handles the draft village, NFL events around the city and associated events.
The league also announced today that Kansas City, Mo., will host the 2023 draft. The site of the 2022 draft has yet to be announced.
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