Green Bay Prepares for the 2025 NFL Draft: A Boost for Local and State Economies

The upcoming 2025 NFL Draft—to be held in Green Bay from April 24-26—is not just a selection process; it is a celebration of football’s enduring legacy in Wisconsin. It’s also a significant economic boon for the Green Bay area.

The event comes during a period of economic uncertainty, offering a much-needed reprieve. This reprieve is significant for both the business owners of Wisconsin who may face pressure from tariffs and for the youth of Brown County who will enjoy two days off from school. However, more on the economics – just how much impact will this event have and how does this compare to previous drafts? Further, what will the longer-term benefits be for the local and state economies?

According to Packers’ CEO Mark Murphy and Discover Green Bay’s CEO Brad Toll, it is an economic benefit of $94 million to Wisconsin and $20 million to Green Bay, assuming 250,000 attendees. These economic impact numbers translate to about $190 per resident of Green Bay or about $16 per Wisconsinite. In terms of attendees, this equates to an average spend of $80 dollars per attendee in the city of Green Bay and $296 dollars spent elsewhere in the state. Each of these numbers fall below the average of the last 7 drafts, which are $350 per city resident, $25 per state citizen, and $420 per attendee spent (host city + state) respectively. These numbers are also near the bottom of the range set by the nearest comparable market drafts, such as Kansas City (2023) and Cleveland (2021), which had ranges of $1,073-115 per city resident, $55-4 per state citizen, and $526-263 per attendee.

It is important to note that the numbers above do not mean each citizen of Green Bay will receive $190 dollars in the mail. Rather, for each citizen of Green Bay this event could pull in $190 dollars in new spending. Whether that be from the wages of individuals whose job has been to set up the new stage who then shop at the local Meijer, or from the folks who will be attending the event and buy a beer at a local brewery.

To evaluate how that initial estimate has held up as well as to touch on those long-term impacts I mentioned, I spoke with Mr. Toll. Here are some of the insights:

• The NFL has already started arriving and spending significantly in the area as they construct a stage and prepare the facility for the large media and fan presence. 
• Based on the app registrations already surpassing Detroit's numbers from last year, it is expected that the previous estimate of attendees may be low. 
• Because Green Bay has fewer hotel rooms and restaurants than most draft cities (and no major airport), a substantial portion of spending is anticipated to flow to neighboring counties and the state at large. 
• Leading up to this event, municipalities have been investing heavily to update their security and public works to facilitate the logistics. 
• Discover Green Bay has been using the draft to entice other large events. They attributed two such events, scheduled for later this year, to the proof of concept the draft offers. 
• The NFL has a program called “Source” which seeks to involve local minority owned small businesses in as many aspects as they can. They also are putting plans in place to ensure the residual materials of the event (leftover food, lumber, etc.) are distributed to local causes. 
• Food concessions will primarily be sourced from Wisconsin brands. 

In short, the event stands to be both beneficial to Green Bay and Wisconsin at large in not just an immediate sense but in a way that will continue to pay dividends for years to come. And in the meantime, as we’re all waiting for those iconic words: “With the first pick of the NFL Draft…” stock up on local cheese and beer now before the non-Wisconsinites discover our superiority in these industries and buy out our supply!