National Football League to announce Philadelphia as 2017 Draft host city

“Philadelphia is a passionate football town and will serve as a tremendous backdrop for the Draft and provide a great atmosphere for our fans and incoming players”, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said.

The NFL is expected to pick up the majority of the cost to stage the 2017 draft in Philadelphia, with the city’s iconic “Rocky” steps serving as its backdrop.

“We’ve been dealing with this for the past couple of weeks, maybe three weeks, and [Kenney] just called me this afternoon and told me that we got the National Football League, that the city is going to do it and he feels comfortable that the people who said they were going to help raise the money are going to do it”. Radio City Music Hall double-booked the draft and a Rockettes performance, and the league was forced to move the draft from the last weekend of April to the first weekend of May.

In Chicago, where the draft was held the past two years, officials touted how the festivities would not cost taxpayers any money.

The first round, held during primetime on Thursday night, is the marquee part of the draft. The last time the city hosted the event was 1960 at the Warwick Hotel. Julie Coker Graham, CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, said a fund-raising effort would soon be underway to raise the city’s portion. Since then, multiple reports have emerged indicating Philly as the likely choice. The hometown Eagles won’t have a pick, however, in the first round. Please see our terms of service for more information.