Buffalo Bills considering bid to host 2028 NFL Draft

The Buffalo Bills intend to make a bid in an effort to host the 2028 NFL Draft, according to a report from Ryan O’Halloran with Buffalo News. While many would imagine that the city of Buffalo, New York, would be the logical location to host such an event, the Bills’ plan is to propose hosting the three-day event in what will ultimately be their new stadium in Orchard Park, New York. .

The NFL’s annual rookie selection process has become a major event, not only in terms of viewership and media coverage, but also as a destination event. Pro football fans can’t get enough of the sport, and the NFL Draft is now claiming a piece of the festival pie once reserved for events like Woodstock, Lollapalooza, Burning Man, Comic Con, and more.

NFL football became a staple of American culture and its reach began to expand beyond continental borders. Can a sport that is becoming such a global phenomenon fully embrace the idea of ​​Orchard Park, New York hosting the draft? Are its suburbs, the greater downtown Buffalo area, and Western New York attracting enough out-of-town visitors at this time in the spring? One Bills Drive intends to find the answer.

This past April, the city of Detroit, Michigan and its Lions hosted the 2024 NFL Draft. While it is undoubtedly a historic American city that is home to our fundamental roots in the automotive industry, and also a major player in pop culture thanks to a rich menu of all-time talent in the music industry, a lot of people might not come. in Motor City at the top of a vacation list.

The same could be said of Buffalo, New York, and the suburban village of Orchard Park.

But NFL fans have proven time and time again that they are willing to travel any distance and anywhere to support their team. That, alone, played a key role in Detroit producing record NFL Draft attendance. Reportedly, 275,000 participants traveled to watch Thursday’s first round take place in downtown Detroit. In total, more than 775,000 visitors visited the city of Detroit during the three-day event.

Those numbers alone represent a huge potential number of travelers heading to the Bills’ home. The effects on infrastructure and more must be considered in a village of 3,049 inhabitants according to the 2022 census. This could also be called into question as to holding anything in the town center – with a census figure of 2022 of 276,486 inhabitants within the city limits.

Although not as large as metro Detroit, the city of Buffalo shares many similarities as an industrious Rust Belt location located next to one of the nation’s great lakes. Anyone who has spent any time in Buffalo, New York will tell you that it’s a fantastic city to visit once the threat of snow has subsided a bit. With so much to discover downtown between Outer Harbor and Canalside, including many historic sites and several top breweries, there’s plenty to keep people entertained for a few days.

When considering the additional opportunities found in cities North and South, for shopping, dining and more in surrounding areas such as Elmwood Village and Delaware Park – the latter including the terrific art gallery Albright-Knox – it’s fair to say that people may develop a new love for Buffalo, NY.

Of course, there’s also Niagara Falls, direct access to Canada, and plenty of opportunities in the surrounding Erie County wine country.

While hosting the event at Orchard Park would not prevent visitors from traveling elsewhere around Buffalo (especially those wishing to embark on a wing excursion), it would create a series of challenges, particularly in terms of traffic and accommodation. It is fair to question whether there is enough room to entertain people if they do not venture outside the village and its immediate surroundings.

Perhaps the biggest question is whether or not Orchard Park and downtown Buffalo are suitable for an event of this size, which some estimate could attract as many as 1,000,000 attendees. The unknown is what percentage of draft participants are considered locals versus out-of-town travelers.

To give an idea, approximately 330,000 visitors were expected in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, during Super Bowl 58 weekend.

Here is a list of NFL Draft host cities (and their 2022 census population figures) since they moved from Radio City Music Hall in New York, NY:

• 2016: Chicago, Illinois (2.665 million)
• 2017: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1.567 million)
• 2018: Arlington, Texas (394,602)
• 2019: Nashville, Tennessee (692,587 — in 2018)
• 2020: Virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic
• 2021: Cleveland, Ohio (361,607)
• 2022: Las Vegas, Nevada (656,274)
• 2023: Kansas City, Missouri (509,297)
• 2024: Detroit, Michigan (620,376)
• 2025: Green Bay, Wisconsin (106,095)
• 2026: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (302,898)

If the Bills were able to land a winning bid, they would become the second smallest city to host the draft, with a population of 276,486. It’s possible that anything goes now that the Packers will host the event in 2025. Yes, the available population totals put Buffalo in the same category as Pittsburgh, Cleveland and even Arlington.

But, again, this is the population of the city of Buffalo, not Orchard Park, where the team intends to focus its proposal. There may be a bit of a wait to see how things play out in the next two drafts.

Vote in our poll, with two questions to consider regarding the Buffalo Bills’ chances of hosting an NFL Draft party.

• Do you believe the Bills can convince the NFL to let the city of Buffalo host the 2028 NFL Draft?

• Is Orchard Park, New York and the Bills’ new stadium the ideal venue for an event of this magnitude – or would the plans be better considered in the heart of downtown Buffalo?