The impact of the 2025 NFL draft on the Fox Cities drew comparisons to another large tourist draw – EAA AirVenture – during a briefing Dec. 3 for local businesses.
The Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce organized a draft presentation for businesses that featured Pam Seidl of the Fox Cities Visitors and Convention Bureau and Megan Roberson, planning specialist marketing and sales for the Green Bay Packers. Both referred to experience with other large Northeastern Wisconsin events including EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh and the 2021 Ryder Cup golf tournament near Sheboygan as a way to estimate the business impact of the draft.
Roberson said the Packers have conservatively estimated an impact of $20 million for Green Bay and $94 million for the state of Wisconsin. That is with an estimated attendance of 240,000 for the April 24-26 event. Previous drafts have drawn considerably more people including last year when more than 700,000 people attended the draft in Detroit.
Roberson said the economic impact does not include any revenue for the team. In fact, the Packers had to raise $8 million to host the draft. In addition to the Packers, PMI Entertainment Group and Discover Green Bay are the lead organizers.
While there is information about the draft at greenbay.com/draft25, Roberson also advised people to download the NFL OnePass App for updates about the draft including maps, activities, schedules, lists of nearby attractions, parking and transportation. There will be opportunities for local people to work at the draft through an online application process and the NFL will give preference to people from the region Roberson said.
She said businesses can become engaged with the draft in a number of ways and should be on the lookout for ideas such as tailgates, bus tours to the draft (which is free to attend), and more. Nick Meissner of Discover Green Bay is developing a business resource guide that will be rolled out in the coming weeks and then be available to businesses throughout the region.
Seidl said she has been working with Discover Green Bay throughout the process with the knowledge that it would take a regional team to make the large event successful. Most of the available hotel rooms in the Green Bay area will be occupied by NFL, team staff and media. That is an opportunity for hotels in the Fox Cities.
But Seidl cautioned businesses to set realistic expectations.
“Yes we are a destination, but people are here to attend the event,” she said. “Think of it like EAA.”
Seidl suggested that offering specials and activities before and after the draft (breakfast specials instead of dinner specials) would be more effective.
There is also significant transportation logistics to work out and Seidl anticipates there being shuttle routes and park and ride locations being announced as the event nears.
Appleton Airport anticipates playing a large role during the draft and announced there will be three added flights and 10 route expansions. The additions are:
- American Airlines will add flights from Phoenix, AZ (PHX), Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (DFW) and Charlotte, NC (CLT)
- Delta Airlines will add an additional flight from Atlanta, GA (ATL)
- Allegiant Airlines will add new service to Pittsburgh, PA (PIT), Providence, RI (PVD) and Canton/Akron, OH (CAK). They will also add to their existing schedule for St. Petersburg/Clearwater, FL (PIE), Orlando/Sandford, FL (SFB), Punta Gorda, FL (PGD), Sarasota/Bradenton, FL (SRQ), Phoenix/Mesa, AZ (AZA), New York/Newark (EWR), Las Vegas, NV (LAS), Denver, CO (DEN), Nashville, TN (BNA)
“Our airline partners recognize the unique demand of this special event,” said Abe Weber, Appleton Airport director.
Weber adds that the major terminal expansion of the airport will be close to completion in time for the draft, with additional gates available for increased air traffic. The airport will have a total of eight or nine gates available for incoming and departing flights (10 gates will be open when the expansion is complete).
