The NFL draft is ready for a venue change.
After 49 consecutive drafts in New York City, the Big Apple won’t be able to host the 2015 edition because Radio City Music Hall will not be available in either April or May of next year. Twelve other cities were interested in holding the event, but according to commissioner Roger Goodell, the league has narrowed its search to either Chicago or Los Angeles.
“We had 12 cities that were interested,” Goodell said Thursday after a panel discussing “Thursday Night Football,” via the Los Angeles Times. “Because we don’t have the appropriate dates in May, our focus is completely on Los Angeles and Chicago. They both have tremendous bids.”
It is unclear when a final decision will be made on the new location, but Goodell said the end of this summer is a possibility.
A venue switch is not the only change the NFL wants to make to the draft. The league is also looking to extend the draft from a three-day event to a four-day affair.
Though the first round of the 2014 draft drew more viewers than Tuesday’s Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the later rounds are a tougher sell. Goodell said the league will look into anything that will make the last rounds more interesting.
“We’re looking at everything under the sun because there’s a great interest in it and we want to do something that’s more responsive to our fans,” he said.
Photo via Twitter/@SInow
