CLEVELAND — As Pittsburgh enjoys the spotlight of the NFL Draft with hundreds of thousands of people turning out for one of the sport’s biggest nights, it is a reminder of what Cleveland lost out on because of COVID-19 when the city hosted the Draft in 2021.
When Cleveland was awarded the draft in May of 2019, it was only a few weeks after Nashville played host and shattered the draft records for economic impact of $224 million and attendance at 600,000 over the three days. Cleveland’s COVID-19 restrictions resulted in an economic impact of $42 million and a socially distanced attendance figure of 160,000.
“I think the NFL also has acknowledged that the Draft in Cleveland in '21, one of the first big national events to take place coming out of COVID, didn't yield Cleveland what we thought it might,” said David Gilbert, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission.
It was no doubt a tremendous boost to a lagging economy at the time and served as Cleveland’s post-pandemic coming-out party, but it left a desire to see the city realize the draft’s full potential once again. That’s why the Sports Commission, in partnership with the Browns, would like a second bite of the draft apple.
“I think that may play into future discussions, but clearly we have expressed an interest, and it's something that we are working closely with the Browns on, seeing you know if in the not too distant future we will be able to host it again,” Gilbert said.
In a statement, the Haslam Sports Group told News 5 they were “absolutely interested in bringing in another draft to our region. We made the best out of hosting the draft in 2021, coming out of COVID, but feel we would draw a lot more people to our region by hosting another draft under normal circumstances."
An idea that the NFL’s executive vice president of Club Business and League Events, Peter O’Reilly, told News 5 they are open to, especially with a new stadium under construction.
“I can see a day where we come back to Cleveland for the Draft at some point, given the incredible fan base and given the great experience, even if it wasn’t a full-fledged draft we had there in ’21 and to your point, all of the momentum we have there in the market,” O’Reilly said. “We are so excited and supportive of what the Browns have going on.”
The 2027 Draft has already been awarded to Washington, D.C., and the 2028 Draft city is expected to be announced next month, with Minnesota, Cincinnati and Buffalo, which is looking to showcase its new stadium, among the reported hopefuls.
"Cleveland’s attitude is we’re ready when you are," said Gilbert. “I think in the end it's whenever it fits for the NFL and whenever it fits for us jointly, we'd be happy to try to figure out the right deal.”
