Buffalo Bills officially notify NFL they want to host draft in 2028 or '29
The Buffalo Bills have filed their official request with the NFL to be considered as the draft host city in 2028 or '29. What's next?
The Buffalo Bills recently submitted an official request of interest to host the NFL draft in 2028 or 2029, Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli told The Buffalo News.
In early June, when the Bills first publicly expressed their interest in hosting the draft, they targeted only 2028. They have now added 2029.
Construction continues on the Buffalo Bills' new Highmark Stadium, scheduled to open in 2026. The Bills have expressed interest in hosting the NFL draft in 2028 or 2029. Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
The first step was completing a form for the league office to signal interest.
The next step?
“We’re currently setting up meetings with other teams who had successful bids to get an understanding of what the process is and how we can position our bid,” Guelli said.
The Buffalo Bills remain on schedule to open their new stadium in 2026 and they plan to submit a bid to host the NFL draft in 2028.
Starting in 2015, eight cities have hosted the NFL draft: Chicago (twice); Philadelphia; Arlington, Texas; Nashville, Tennessee; Cleveland; Las Vegas; Kansas City, Missouri; and Detroit. Green Bay, Wisconsin, will host next year’s draft on April 24-26. The draft was held remotely in 2020 due to Covid-19.
Two years ago, Visit Kansas City said the draft drew 312,000 people over three days and had an economic impact of $164.3 million. In April, Detroit took it to another level. According to the Detroit Sports Commission, the event drew 775,000 fans and generated $213.6 million in economic impact.
Crowds fill an area outside of the draft stage during Friday's second round of the NFL draft in Detroit. Carlos Osorio, Associated Press
The Bills’ bid for 2028 or '29 falls in line after the 2026 opening of the new Highmark Stadium. Last month, Guelli said the footprint of the new stadium would be the hub to the Bills’ draft-hosting proposal.
In addition to talking to other franchises, the Bills are in a waiting game.
“We haven’t heard back from the league on timing, but we’ve communicated to the highest levels that we’re very interested in hosting the draft in one of those two years,” Guelli said.
If the league office alerts the Bills that they are in contention for either draft, the Bills will put together a detailed proposal.
“We tried to be more thorough (with the initial interest form) so they would understand how serious we are about this,” Guelli said. “We want to deliberately follow the process and stay in the hunt.”
