Why Miami is one of 5 cities that should never host the NFL Draft
By Brian Miller
It was announced yesterday that Green Bay will host the 2022 NFL Draft but there are some NFL cities that should never host the annual event.
The NFL Draft is one of the biggest sporting events in all of the professional sports and it isn’t even a competition. The annual event draws thousands of fans from all over the country and the decision to move the event out of New York City was probably the best decision that the league could have made.
With Dallas, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, and Nashville already having hosted the draft and Las Vegas on tap this year, it is becoming clear that the NFL’s best line of success is to give a new city the draft each year. In 2021 the event will move to Cleveland, 2022 will see it in Green Bay, and in 2023 the city of Kansas City will host the game. It seems as though the NFL is making its rounds around the league, but honestly, some cities should not be included as potential host cities.
With the popularity of the NFL and specifically the draft, the NFL needs to make sure that the wealth of the league reaches the cities that typically do not get money from NFL events. Here are five cities that should not host the draft, and why.
Indianapolis
Each year the NFL world descends on Indianapolis for the NFL Combine. Some believe it would be fitting to see the draft class audition at the combine and then finish their journey in the same city a month and a half later. That isn’t a good idea.
The city already hosts one of the bigger off-season events over the course of four days so why give the city something else to host? Unless the league opts to move the NFL Combine around the country, the draft should stay out of Indianapolis.
Miami
Yes, the city of Miami shouldn’t be on the short or long list of cities to host the draft. Miami is not an annual host of the Super Bowl but they are clearly in the five to eight-year rotation for the biggest game in all of sports.
Miami could easily host the NFL Draft but to be honest, the city is already hosting so much through the work of Tom Garfinkel and Stephen Ross including world-class tennis, top college bowl games, and potentially Formula 1 racing, so do they really need another event? Probably not, there are other cities that should benefit from the draw that will never host a Super Bowl or other major event.
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New York City
The Big Apple was home to the NFL Draft since the very beginning and what started out as a simple scheduling conflict that moved the draft out of the city, it is clear that it should never return. The draft has been a major NFL event publicly since the early 1980s when it started to be covered on television, now, streets are lined with fans that are hundreds deep. Last year, Nashville was a sea of color as the event was played out over three days.
New York had their time and now it is time for other cities to reap the benefits of the event.
New Orleans
To be honest, New Orleans would be a huge draw for fans of the NFL. It is one of the hot spot destinations in all of the United States. From Mardi Gras to other events, the city knows how to host big events. Which is also one of the reasons why the draft should be held elsewhere.
Like Miami, New Orleans has been one of the top venues for the Super Bowl. In fact, the are on the schedule to host another in the near future. That Super Bowl will move them into a tie with Miami as the city to host the most. Like Miami, that is a reason to explore other cities, like Pittsburgh or Arizona long before they consider putting the game here.
Orlando
Orlando is not an NFL city per se but the league has seen fit to let the city host the annual Pro Bowl and as a result, the city of Orlando should not be considered as one of the cities to host the NFL Draft.
Orlando has had success with hosting the Pro Bowl and it should probably stay there unless the league decides to move that game around the country as well. They have dabbled in having the Super Bowl host city also host the Pro Bowl the week before. Miami has hosted both but it is better served to be hosted in a neutral city.
While hosting the NFL Draft outside of these five cities may not be a popular opinion, the NFL needs to give cities with NFL teams opportunities to get their cities involved in the league more than simply hosting games on Sunday.