Bills submit official request to host future NFL draft

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — The NFL Draft could soon come to Western New York after the Buffalo Bills submitted an official request of interest to the league that could lead to them hosting the 2028 or 2029 draft, team officials confirmed.

The NFL Draft has continued to grow as a spectacle since it moved away from New York City in 2015. The most recent edition in downtown Detroit set a new attendance record with over 775,000 attendees across three days, according to city officials.

A big draw like the NFL Draft would also mean a big economic boost to Western New York.

UB School of Management professor Charles Lindsey said if the Bills are chosen to host, it would be huge for the area. For instance, Detroit raked in more than $213 million in economic impact.

Lindsey said much of that money stays in the community, and those fans who travel will stay at area hotels, eat at local restaurants and spend money doing activities.

“About two-thirds typically of that spending is direct — hotels, food and beverage would represent the vast majority of the direct category,” Lindsey said. “Also retail, recreation, business services, transportation. But then you have, the other one-third is an indirect component. Businesses and vendors hiring temporary workers, and that extra money going to those temporary workers, then they’re taking that money out and spending it in the community.”

The process to host the 2028 or 2029 draft will unfold over the next few years, as a 2027 host has yet to be declared either. The location of a draft is typically revealed around two years prior to the event.

Should Buffalo be awarded a draft, it would give the Bills organization the perfect opportunity to showcase its new stadium and surrounding campus, which is slated to be completed in 2026, to a massive audience

Now, the Bills are waiting to hear back from the league if they are up for consideration in one of the two proposed years. If that is the case, the team would put together a detailed proposal.

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