The Twin Cities are making their play to bring one of the NFL’s biggest events to Minnesota, with officials confirming they’ve officially entered the race to host the 2028 NFL Draft.
Minnesota Sports and Events Commission President and CEO Wendy Blackshaw verified to ESPN on Wednesday that the organization has submitted their formal proposal to stage the event at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The league’s annual draft event is scheduled for Pittsburgh in the coming month, followed by the nation’s capital in 2027.
According to ESPN, the NFL generally makes its hosting decisions approximately two years in advance, meaning Minneapolis could learn their fate in the near future.
The draft event underwent a major transformation starting in 2015, moving away from its longtime New York home where it resided from 1965 through 2014. Since then, the selection spectacle has traveled to various cities including Chicago for two consecutive years in 2015-16, followed by stops in Philadelphia, Arlington in Texas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Detroit, and Green Bay scheduled for 2025.
The only interruption to this traveling format occurred in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic forced organizers to conduct the event virtually.
