Report: Bills Eye Hosting NFL Draft in 2028 or 2029 After Opening of New Stadium
August 15, 2024
The Buffalo Bills have informed the NFL via an "official request of interest" of their desire to host the draft in 2028 or 2029.
Bills Chief Operating Officer Pete Guelli revealed the news to Ryan O'Halloran of the Buffalo News.
The Bills are expected to open their new stadium in Orchard Park, New York in time for the 2026 season. It's unclear where the Bills would plan to host the NFL draft festivities, but as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted, it "possibly would unfold in and around the team's new stadium."
As for the next step, Guelli noted: "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."
The NFL draft was in New York from 1965-2014 but has since traveled from NFL city to NFL city. This year's draft took place in Detroit, and next year's is set for Green Bay. Pittsburgh will host the 2026 draft per an announcement made in May. Washington D.C. is looking to host the 2027 draft. Denver is considering submitting a bid for the 2027 or 2028 draft.
Buffalo would be a great place to host the draft. One can argue that the league's most passionate fanbase emanates from Western New York, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see people come out in droves for the draft. Of note, 775,000 people were in town for the draft in Detroit in April.
Having the draft in town also brings a great economic impact to the area, as University of Buffalo School of Management professor Charles Lindsey noted to Marlee Tuskes and Adam Gorski of WIVB 4.
"About two-thirds typically of that spending is direct — hotels, food and beverage would represent the vast majority of the direct category. Also retail, recreation, business services, transportation. But then you have, the other one-third is an indirect component. Businesses and vendors hiring temporary workers, and that extra money going to those temporary workers, then they're taking that money out and spending it in the community."
Given all the factors here, it's easy to see why the Bills would like to bring the draft to Western New York.
