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Over the years, the annual NFL Draft, during which pro football teams select the nation’s best college players, has morphed from a stodgy, businesslike event into a full-on party.
With Nashville hosting this year’s festivities, the draft is set to become a bigger spectacle than ever. Taking place downtown from April 25 to 27, the event will fuse the anticipation of the draft process with the excitement of a music festival, with a 100 percent free mix of live concerts, kid-friendly activities, and unheard of access to the league’s newest players transforming Lower Broadway and beyond. An estimated 100,000 fans are expected to swarm downtown in what the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. has labeled the “biggest entertainment event ever recruited” by the city. Here’s what you need to know to enjoy it all.
1. NFL Draft Theater:
As the centerpiece of the 2019 draft, a massive stage will rise at Broadway and 1st Avenue where each pick will emerge to greet NFL commissioner Roger Goodell—and, of course, pose for photos with some newly acquired team gear. Broadway will be closed all the way to 5th Avenue, and multiple video screens will help accommodate what promises to be a huge crowd, with A-list concerts, street vendors, and the honky tonks adding fuel to the frenzy.
2. NFL Draft Experience:
Just across the river is part two of what makes the 2019 draft so special. The area around Nissan Stadium and Cumberland Park will transform into a massive web of playing fields and family-friendly fun, complete with interactive games, Play 60 activities for the kids, autograph signings, food trucks, a tailgate area, more live music, and even photo opportunities with the Lombardi Trophy. And it’s all free.
3. Selection Square:
The actual draft selections—and all the behind-the-scenes drama that goes with them—will happen inside the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. But fans interested in the league’s strategic inner workings will have access here, too, just on a more limited basis. Download the NFL Fan Pass mobile app for complete event info and update announcements.
4. NFL Draft Red Carpet:
Head over to the green at Riverfront Park to get an up-close look at some of the nation’s best, and biggest, athletes. Draft selections will walk an awards-show style red carpet, conduct interviews with the press, and pose for photos. And after that, they’ll officially join the NFL.
5: Interested in the draft, but not the crowds:
We can’t blame you. Luckily, ABC, ESPN, and the NFL Network will simulcast all three rounds of draft action, with the sports networks drawing up implications for each team, and ABC tackling the human-interest side of the story. Local watering holes and fan clubs are likely to host viewing parties as well (go Bills). But nothing will compare to being in the thick of the action.