The NFL draft has turned into a significant event business, as 420,000 people applied for tickets to attend this year at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. And 20 NFL teams have expressed interest in hosting the event over the next five years.
This year's draft, which begins Thursday night at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, will be the first held in a stadium. Demand has been big enough that free tickets to see the first round in person have sold on eBay for as much as $300 each.
"It's the embodiment of hope in the middle of the offseason, where nobody wins or loses and where college fandom leads into the NFL," said Peter O'Reilly, senior vice president of events for the league.
AT&T Stadium has been configured to hold more than 20,000 fans for each day of the event. A lottery was held for the free tickets for each of the three days of the draft, with 10,000 people getting two seats apiece to a particular day.
The draft has come a long way from its origins in 1936, when newspapers didn't even bother to cover who was picked. The first televised draft was broadcast by ESPN in 1980, but it wasn't a fan event until 1995, when the league moved it to Madison Square Garden.
The draft eventually moved to New York City's Radio City Music Hall for nine years.
"For the last years in Radio City, we felt there was more demand by getting up close and personal," O'Reilly said. "We felt that Day 3 was a bit sleepy and we wanted to see what we did if we opened up that door."
The show went on the road to Chicago (2015 and 2016) and Philadelphia (2017) with great success, as measured by interest inside the building as well as outside, where the league brought experiences to fans previously only seen at the Super Bowl.
Those who didn't win tickets to be inside AT&T Stadium still have plenty to do outside. There is an area that is 26 football fields in size and includes a stage where local musicians play, an area where fans can test their 40-yard dash times, and a place to sample food from local restaurants.
"It's pretty much the opposite of the Super Bowl," O'Reilly said. "It's incredibly accessible and anyone can get close to the action for free."
Linking what happens on stage to off stage takes on a new wrinkle this year.
"This year we took some inspiration from the political conventions and we have team delegations on the floor," O'Reilly said. "We gave each team 50 tickets and the player will come over to that section to be welcomed after they are drafted."
Although there's no immediate revenue to be made by the host team -- the league fronts the undisclosed costs to put on the event -- there is economic impact locally.
Last year's draft resulted in a projected $56.1 million in direct spending on hotels, restaurants, bars and retail shops in the Philadelphia area, according to Temple University's Sport Industry Research Center.
"It's not the Super Bowl in terms of economic impact, but it's a very real number and cities can get a lot of visibility," O'Reilly said.
For the NFL, promising exposure for sponsors in front of 250,000 people makes official league deals more valuable. Nearly 40 brands that pay the league to be a sponsor have a presence at the draft.
Last summer, after teams were asked by the NFL if they would be interested in hosting the draft in any year from 2019 through 2023, 20 responded with a "yes."
Five bids to host the 2019 draft will be reviewed next month at the owners meetings. The cities vying to host are Las Vegas (Raiders), Nashville, Tennessee (Titans), Denver (Broncos) and Kansas City (Chiefs), as well as a combined Cleveland/Canton bid by the Browns that includes the Pro Football Hall of Fame.