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The Cleveland Browns, in conjunction with Canton, Ohio’s Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, are working to bring the 2019 or 2020 NFL Drafts to the Hall, reported 92.3 The Fan’s Daryl Ruiter on Friday.
The group has informed the NFL that they are interested in hosting either year’s draft and should soon submit a formal bid to the league, one which will include full details of what a Northeastern Ohio-based NFL Draft will look like.
Bringing the Draft to the Hall of Fame region makes sense; the league has shown great willingness to try new venues for the yearly springtime event, first moving it to Chicago in both 2015 and 2016 and then to Philadelphia in 2017. The Draft had long been held in New York City’s Radio City Music Hall, and the 2018 venue is still to be determined.
The newly-revamped Hall and its environs could more than accommodate what has become a massive, week-long celebration of football and the league’s new rookie class. There is the rebuilt Tom Benson Stadium, where Thursday night’s Hall of Fame preseason game was held. There is also the $700 million Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, featuring a massive, five-star hotel and a football-themed amusement and water park.
All of these are expected to be completed by 2020, which also marks the NFL’s 100-year anniversary and would make an attractive backdrop for the centennial draft.