Where is the 2023 NFL Draft? A look at past and future hosts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The 2023 NFL Draft is just over a week away.
While there’s still plenty of discussion about the teams that each player will be drafted to, one thing is for certain: the draft site.
Each year, the NFL rotates the annual event to different cities across the country.
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Here’s a look at the 2023 host, plus information about past and future sites:
Where is the 2023 NFL Draft?
The 2023 NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City, Mo.
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Events will take place in the downtown area of the city, surrounding the iconic Union Station and the National WWI Museum and Memorial.
Here’s a rendering of what the scene in Kansas City could look like next week:
How does the NFL decide where to hold the draft?
Just like any other major event, think the Olympics or World Cup, cities across the country bid to host the draft and the NFL votes on a winner. The vote comes down to the owners of the 32 NFL teams, and they are generally voted on two years in advance.
This process is relatively new to the NFL, as the draft was previously held annually in New York City. That all changed in 2015 when the draft moved to Chicago after 50 consecutive years in New York. Since 2016, the draft site has changed every year.
What city has hosted the most NFL drafts?
As you might’ve guessed, New York has hosted the most NFL drafts with 57 – including a 50-year stretch from 1965 to 2014. Philadelphia, which hosted the first NFL draft in 1936, has hosted the second-most times with 12. Here’s the full list of cities that have hosted the event:
- New York City, 57 (1937, 1939, 1945-47, 1952, 1955, 1965-2014)
- Philadelphia, 12 (1936, 1949-50, 1953-54, 1956-61, 2017)
- Chicago, 10 (1938, 1942-44, 1951, 1962-64, 2015-16)
- Milwaukee, 1 (1940)
- Washington D.C., 1 (1941)
- Pittsburgh, 1 (1948)
- Los Angeles, 1 (1956, rounds 1-3 were in Philly before rounds 4-30 were in L.A.)
- Dallas, 1 (2018)
- Nashville, 1 (2019)
- Virtual, 1 (2020 due to COVID-19)
- Cleveland, 1 (2021)
- Las Vegas, 1 (2022)
Future NFL Draft host cities for 2024, 2025
Two future draft sites have been announced at this time.
Detroit, Mich., will host the 2024 NFL Draft for the first time ever.
Another NFC North city is in line to host in 2025: Green Bay, Wis. The Packers will hold the draft in their backyard for the first time as different cities continue to cycle in.
