Move over Navy Pier.
Last year, the NFL Draft moved to Chicago, and more than 200,000 came out to see everything it had to offer.
Grant Park was morphed into NFL Draft Town, an interactive fan area that hosted a variety of football-themed events, signings, flag football leagues, and a massive screen that projected draft proceedings to the masses.
This year, NFL Draft Town is back, and it’s getting a major upgrade. We were all impressed by last year’s 768,000-square-foot stretch, but this year we’ll be getting 960,000 square feet of football greatness.
With the expansion comes new scenery. While last year’s festival was closer to Michigan Ave, this year will take to the lakefront with TV sets and the draft’s “Selection Square” where picks are announced encircling Buckingham Fountain.
Now for the most important detail– the Ferris wheel. For us, this is by far the coolest addition to the festival. This 120-foot monster will be housed right on the Grant Park lawn (near Van Buren Street). Not only will this be a welcomed attraction for the kiddos, it will provide killer views of the skyline and the draft as it’s happening. It doesn’t get much better than that.
While we have yet to receive a list of food vendors, musical acts, and entertainment – we can be sure that this year will be bigger and better than the last.
Word on the street is the NFL is discussing making Chicago its permanent home for the NFL Draft, and we can’t say that we would mind one bit.
Date & Time:
- Thursday, April 28: 12PM – 10PM
- Friday, April 29: 12PM – 10PM
- Saturday, April 30: 10AM – 6PM
