Is the NFL ready to welcome its fans to Bills Country? Sound off in our poll!
The Buffalo Bills intend to make a bid in an effort to host the 2028 NFL Draft, per a report by Ryan O’Halloran with The Buffalo News. While many would envision that the city of Buffalo, NY proper would be the logical venue to host such an event, the Bills’ plan is to propose holding the three-day event in what will eventually be their new home stadium within Orchard Park, NY.
#Bills plan to bid to host 2028 NFL draft.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) June 3, 2024
“We think the city of Buffalo would be absolutely perfect for this type of event.” -- new COO Pete Guelli.https://t.co/viniXbdP5y
The NFL’s annual rookie selection process has grown to become a major event — not only in terms of broadcast viewership and media coverage, but also as a destination event. Fans of professional football cannot get enough of the sport, and the NFL Draft now claims a bit of the festival pie once reserved for events like Woodstock, Lollapalooza, Burning Man, Comic Con, and more.
NFL football has become a staple of American culture, and its reach has begun to grab hold of locales outside the continental boundary. Can a sport that’s becoming such a global phenomenon fully embrace the idea of having Orchard Park, NY play host for the draft? Does its suburb, the larger downtown Buffalo area, and Western New York carry enough draw for out-of-town visitors at that point in spring? One Bills Drive intends to find out the answer.
This past April, The city of Detroit, MI and their Lions played host for the 2024 NFL Draft. While undoubtedly a historic American city that’s home to our foundational roots in the automotive industry, and also a major player in pop culture thanks to a rich menu of all-time talents in the music industry — a fair number of people might not put a visit to the Motor City near the top of a vacation list.
The same could be said of Buffalo, NY, and the suburban village of Orchard Park.
But NFL fans have proven time and again that they’re willing to travel any distance and anywhere to support their team. That, alone, played a key role in Detroit producing record-breaking NFL Draft attendance numbers. Reports shared that 275,000 attendees made the trip to witness Thursday’s Round 1 unfold in downtown Detroit. All told, more than 775,000 visitors made their way to the city of Detroit over the course of the three-day event.
Those figures alone present a massive potential number of travelers headed to the home of the Bills. One has to consider the effects on infrastructure and more in a village of 3,049 individuals per the 2022 census. That same could be questioned of holding anything downtown, as well — with a 2022 census figure of 276,486 residents within the city limits.
Though not as large as metropolitan Detroit, the city of Buffalo shares many similarities in as an industrious rust-belt locale situated next to one of the country’s great lakes. Anyone who’s spent time in Buffalo, NY will tell you that it’s a fantastic city to visit once the threat of snow settles a bit. With so much to experience downtown between Outer Harbor and Canalside, including plenty of historic sites and more than a few top-tier breweries, there’s plenty to keep people entertained for a few days.
When considering the added opportunities found in the North and South Towns, to shopping, dining, and more within surrounding areas such as Elmwood Village and Delaware Park — the latter of which includes the tremendous Albright-Knox Art Gallery — it’s fair to say people may develop a newfound love for Buffalo, NY.
Of course, there’s also Niagara Falls, direct access to Canada, and plenty of opportunities in surrounding wine country area of Erie County.
Though hosting the event in Orchard Park wouldn’t prevent visitors from traveling elsewhere around Buffalo (especially those looking to embark on a wing tour), it would create a series of challenges — most of all regarding traffic and lodging. It is fair to question whether there’s enough to keep people entertained should they fail to venture outside the village and its immediate surroundings.
Perhaps the biggest question is whether or not either of Orchard Park and downtown Buffalo are suitable for an event this size, which some have predicted could draw as many as a 1,000,000 attendees. The unknown is what percentage of draft attendees are considered locals versus out-of-town travelers.
For some perspective, an estimated 330,000 visitors were expected to visit the city of Las Vegas, NV during the weekend of Super Bowl 58.
Here’s a list of NFL Draft host cities (and their 2022 census population figures) since shifting from Radio City Music Hall in New York City, NY:
- 2016: Chicago, IL (2.665 million)
- 2017: Philadelphia, PA (1.567 million)
- 2018: Arlington, TX (394,602)
- 2019: Nashville, TN (692,587 — as of 2018)
- 2020: Virtual due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- 2021: Cleveland, OH (361,607)
- 2022: Las Vegas, NV (656,274)
- 2023: Kansas City, MO (509,297)
- 2024: Detroit, MI (620,376)
- 2025: Green Bay, WI (106,095)
- 2026: Pittsburgh, PA (302,898)
If the Bills were able to land a winning bid, they would land as the second-smallest city to host the draft with 276,486 census-counted residents. It’s possible that anything’s fair game now that the Packers will host the event in 2025. Yes, available population totals put Buffalo in the same category as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and even Arlington.
But, again, that’s the population of the the city of Buffalo — not of Orchard Park, where the team intends to focus their proposal. There may be a bit of a waiting game involved, to see how things play out during the next two drafts.
Vote in our poll, with two questions to consider regarding the Buffalo Bills’ chances to host 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, NY and the Bills’ new stadium the right venue for an event of this magnitude — or would plans be better-considered within the heart of downtown Buffalo?