NFL Releases Details On What 'Draft Town' In Grant Park Will Look Like
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Draft Town will be taking over Grant Park in a couple of weeks for the 2015 NFL Draft, and we're getting our first view at what it will look like.
As the draft is held from April 30-May 2 at Roosevelt University's Auditorium Theatre, Draft Town will be the fan festival held in a 900,000-square-foot area. On Tuesday, the NFL released new details on what it will all look like.
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Fifteen football fields in size, Draft Town includes interactive events, a Super Bowl museum, a tavern, food, a flag football competition and an outdoor "Selection Square" where teams will make their selections from draft tables. A free seating section will be set up for fans.
Draft Town hours of operation will be Thursday, April 30 from 4-10 p.m.; Friday, May 1 from 4-10 p.m.; and Saturday, May 2 from 10 a.m.–7 p.m.
"This is a town that we know loves free festivals, comes out in major ways and we know that across that Thursday, Friday and Saturday we expect that not only Bears fans but fans across the Midwest and really fans across the county to come out and experience that," said NFL Senior VP Peter O'Reilly.
This marks the first time since 1964 the NFL Draft has been held outside of New York. With Radio City Music Hall tied up this year, Chicago lured the NFL's annual selection of players with a promise of transforming the park leading to the Auditorium Theatre.
The Auditorium Theatre, the 125-year-old gem with perfect acoustics, has hosted concerts from Pavarotti to Prince.
For three days it'll it will have two tiers on the stage and enormous video screens as the NFL's 32 teams pick the players of the future.
"The fact that the NFL picked this theatre when they could have picked any theatre in the country to host the draft speaks to the genius of the architects who built this place," said Brett Batterson, executive director of the Auditorium Theatre.
It's said 55 million people watch at least some part of the NFL draft, making it an advertisement for Chicago.
"This is a three day postcard from Chicago to the world," said Don Welsh of Choose Chicago.
To help stage Draft Town activities, the NFL's Peter O'Reilly says they hired C3 Presents, the concert promoter that puts on Lollapalooza.
This will mark the first time the draft has been held outside of New York City since 1964.
