Why is the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City?
The 2023 NFL Draft will take place in Kansas City, Missouri. For Philadelphia Eagles fans, it’ll be a bittersweet moment when the event kicks off on Thursday, April 27th at Union Station. On one hand, after weeks of analysis, it’ll be exciting to see which draft prospects will be donning midnight green. On the other, watching Kansas City host the draft will bring back memories of Philly’s heartbreaking Super Bowl 57 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs just a few months ago.
The city was given the opportunity to host the draft this year during a league-wide vote in 2019. An NFL special committee dedicated to major events along with owners of all 32 teams had the chance to review and edit the city’s proposal. It will be the first time, the draft will take place in Kansas City.
NFL Draft past and future locations
The first-ever NFL draft happened in 1936 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. The league alternated the locations of the event between Philadelphia, New York City, and Chicago during its first three decades before keeping it in New York from 1965 to 2014. Radio City Music Hall in Midtown Manhattan was the primary venue.
Beginning in 2015, the league wanted to extend its outreach to bring more fans to the event. Similar to the Super Bowl, cities have to bid to host the NFL Draft. With the event happening in the warmer spring months, cities that typically will never host a Super Bowl, get an opportunity to put on a large-scale NFL event. Thousands of fans flock to the downtown areas where the event takes place and millions watch on TV, which helps to generate positive press for the city and brings in plenty of revenue.
Here are the recent NFL draft locations along with next year’s event.
- 2015 (Chicago)
- 2016 (Chicago)
- 2017 (Philadelphia)
- 2018 (Dallas)
- 2019 (Nashville)
- 2020 (Virtual due to COVID-19 Pandemic)
- 2021 (Cleveland)
- 2022 (Las Vegas)
- 2023 (Kansas City)
- 2024 (Detroit)
Some unique features of this year’s draft
Since shifting from the familiar backdrop of New York City, there have been many memorable backdrops of the draft in recent years. This year’s event in Kansas City will be on an even larger scale. With a footprint of over 3 million square feet, it’ll be the largest NFL Draft site ever. The site is over a million square feet larger than each of the past two events which were in Cleveland and Las Vegas.
The city is building a very large stage to feature the most recognizable structure in the city, Union Station. The building was once home to one of the busiest train hubs in the Midwest. While trains still pass through, the building is now a mixed-use facility featuring museums, cultural centers, shops, and restaurants. It has helped revitalize downtown and was the site for previous Chiefs Super Bowl parades in 2020 and 2023 as well as the Kansas City Royals World Series parade in 2015.
The players will wait for their name to be called inside the station, while fans will gather on the lawn. Custom-built LED lights and multiple TV screens will make it easy for fans who attend to follow the selections. This year’s site will be a similar setup to the 2017 event in Philadelphia where the NFL built the draft stage and viewing areas in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Rocky steps.
With the elaborate setup the city has planned and the unique culture of the area, it is no surprise the NFL has chosen Kansas City for the 2023 NFL Draft. The city is rich in its passion for sports and the central location within the Midwest will allow fans from all over the country to attend.