DALLAS — The 2018 NFL Draft will undoubtedly be the biggest three-day event in league history. But will it better than last year’s spectacle in Philadelphia?
Such responsibility falls largely on Peter O’Reilly's shoulders.
As the league's senior vice president of events, O’Reilly and his crew have worked feverishly to insure things go as smooth as possible for the 400,000-plus people projected to attend either the draft itself or the numerous festivities being held for free Thursday through Saturday outside AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
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"How do you take (a venue) that could hold 90,000 fans but create this type of intimate theater environment inside and then also have the outside experience to compliment it?” O'Reilly told co-host Gil Brandt and me Monday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
The NFL did that last year in Philadelphia with its most memorable draft to date. The league’s first draft held outdoors was a smashing success; the three-day crowd of 250,000 not only provided a far more spirited environment than the sterile theater-style setting at which the event was held in New York City and Chicago from 1965 to 2016. It also unfolded with surprising efficiency and order. No arrests were reported amid the fan frivolity.
Maybe the NFL would have returned to Philly in 2018 had it known the Eagles would win their first Super Bowl last season. Instead, the league declined that contractual option last May in favor of the home site for another NFC East squad — one iconic Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson famously championed last year when he revealed the franchise’s second-round pick while taunting furious Eagles fans with his enthusiastic wind-up.
"It was a great iconic location there right on the Rocky steps and on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway," said O’Reilly, referring to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s expansive lawn setting. "We had a beautiful three days. That Eagles fan base just came out. There had never been a big event there like this in terms of the draft and the Super Bowl so the energy was great."
The NFL’s goal now is duplicating or even topping such an environment at a venue that had its issues when hosting its last big league event — Super Bowl 45 — in 2011. Toward that end, the NFL has taken steps designed to resonate with the live crowd and on television.
One of those steps is the creation of an "Inner Circle," in which 50 hand-picked fans from all 32 NFL teams will serve as “draft ambassadors” in a specifically designated area in front of where the picks will be announced.
"It's stolen a little bit from the playbook of a political convention where every team is going to have its delegation of 50 fans seated by division where they can be going crazy supporting their team," O’Reilly said. "I think that’s just going to create a whole new energy right around the stage where you’ve got those teams and get those rivalries in play.
"We're actually going to do a roll call before the draft like you do at a convention of introducing all of those team delegations and stirring up some excitement."
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Holders of seats inside AT&T Stadium for the draft were selected through a lottery. However, outside fans will still have the chance for admission should seats open during the draft.
Roger Goodell will continue the NFL commissioner tradition of announcing all the first-round picks before giving way to a series of guest presenters. That group is led by Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, who will announce Cleveland’s first pick in the second round. Other enshrinees set to announce selections for the team with which they forged their own road to Canton include LaDainian Tomlinson (Los Angeles Chargers), Jerry Kramer (Green Bay), Bob Lilly (Dallas) and Dwight Stephenson (Miami).
The third round is slotted for winners or finalists for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award with league executive Troy Vincent, who won captured the honor in 2002, replacing Goodell on stage.
Unlike with Philadelphia, it’s known in advance that Arlington/Dallas is one-and-done as a draft site. O’Reilly said 20 NFL cities are interested in hosting future drafts.
Las Vegas, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City and Cleveland/Canton are the finalists for the 2019 and 2020 drafts. The chosen sites will be announced at the NFL’s spring meeting May 21-23 in Atlanta. The winning bids for Super Bowls 57 and 58 in 2023 and 2024, respectively, also will be announced in May.
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"There are a number of factors, but it really is, 'How can the place that we put the draft in help take it to another level in terms of being that ‘Wow’ factor, that iconic moment?'" O’Reilly said. "Obviously, you need a space that allows a lot of fans free access to that experience. And then certainly we want to get it around to different parts of the country, so geography plays a role, as well."
How high that bar is set for the next NFL draft site will become clear after this weekend.
"Each year is unique," O’Reilly said. "That’s the beauty now of being able to take the draft on the road — find a city and then showcase that city and its fans in a really powerful way."
Alex Marvez can be heard from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET Tuesday and 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET Wednesday on SiriusXM NFL Radio.
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