Wisconsin business leaders bring home information on how to cash in during 2025 NFL Draft
DETROIT (WLUK) -- More than 275,000 people entered the 2024 NFL Draft campus in downtown Detroit on Thursday, proving ample opportunity for Wisconsin businesses to cash in when the draft is in Green Bay next year.
FOX 11 is told Wisconsin businesses should be getting ready, as information learned in Detroit will be coming home soon on how to get involved with the 2025 NFL Draft.
Businesses leaders expect plenty of opportunity to cash in across the state, especially considering tourism officials say they’ve found 70% of people who attend the draft drive to get to it.
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“If you’re in Hayward, down to La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, down to Kenosha and Racine, you will have an opportunity to be well informed about the business opportunities with the NFL Draft throughout this year in preparation for 2025,” said Eugene Manzanet, Senior Director of Diverse Business Development for Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
Representatives from the WEDC, New North, and Greater Green Bay Chamber are all in Detroit to see firsthand what it takes to put on the three-day event.
“Really, it’s for us to learn how the vendors are setting up, what the needs are from a vendor's perspective and how we can really make sure that Green Bay is ready for the draft,” said Barbara Koldos, Vice President of Business Development for New North.
“I think starting when we get back to town, we’re really going to start advertising to businesses, small businesses, the large businesses, kind of a NFL playbook on how they can best amplify their businesses and how they can best market themselves during that time,” said Beth Jones Schnese, Vice President of Administration for Greater Green Bay Chamber.
Jessica Parker, Chief Operating Officer for Detroit’s mayor, says coordination is a must and making sure businesses and residents know this isn’t just the NFL coming in and taking over.
“If I could give you any suggestion, I would say, make sure you are making the event inclusive,” said Parker. “That no one feels left out. So that means engaging your businesses, your residents, key stakeholders, wherever the event is going to be -- making sure that they are part of it so they have a buy in.”
FOX 11 asked Koldos how businesses can get involved with the draft.
“There is an NFL platform that’s going to be showcased or released later this month, and it’s a matter of getting yourself signed up for that and showing what it is you can supply as a business,” said Koldos.
Once you are signed up in the NFL’s platform, Koldos says the NFL will vet the list and provide opportunities for businesses to bid on opportunities.
Business leaders say stay tuned in with their groups like New North, local chambers, and the WEDC, as more information will be shared in the coming weeks.
Town halls are also planned throughout the state of Wisconsin in August for draft-related business opportunities.
Green Bay is on the clock for the 2025 NFL Draft! FOX 11's Ben Krumholz hosts a special at 9:30 p.m. May 5 to find out how local authorities are preparing and what Northeast Wisconsin can expect.