2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay; economic impact surpasses projections

2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay economic impact

The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay surpassed economic expectations, according to a study Experience Green Bay Inc. released on Wednesday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. - The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay surpassed economic expectations, according to a study Experience Green Bay Inc. released on Wednesday.

By the numbers:

Sportsimpacts conducted the study, which found the economic impact in Brown County was $72.9 million – more than $50 million greater than the original $20 million projection. Statewide, the total economic impact reached $104.7 million. The initial projection was $94 million.

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"We do have the best fans in the NFL. Our fans showed up and surpassed all attendance projections, and we had record crowds throughout all the three days," said Gabrielle Valdez Dow, Packers vice president of marketing.

Hotels and restaurants did well, and visitor spending at bars was up 946%.

NFL Draft economic impact study release

Experience Greater Green Bay Inc. released the results of a study on the economic impact of the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay.

"On Day 1, we sold more beer on Thursday night than all three days of the Kansas City draft, all three days of the Detroit draft," Valdez Dow said.

More than 362,000 unique visitors came to Green Bay, helping to build overall draft attendance to 600,000 over three days in April. The NFL initially projected 240,000 attendees. 

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"The atmosphere was electric, and the NFL was blown away by our record crowds and how well our campus worked," said Valdez Dow.

The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay was the second-most watched draft in league history. The Sportsimpacts study also revealed:

• 31% of attendees were from outside Wisconsin.
• 24% of attendees paid for overnight lodging (with 29% staying in Brown County and 21% in Outagamie County).
• More than 83% of out-of-state visitors were first-time Green Bay travelers.
• Over 50% of attendees were either Brown County residents or day-commuters.
• This event had the largest percentage of non-local visitors staying with local family or friends (21.4%) in Sportsimpacts’ 25 years of consulting-highlighting the regional draw and "homecoming" effect for Packers fans.

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Green Bay On Draft: Only In Wisconsin

The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay drew a crowd nearly six times the size of the host city itself.

The other side:

Much like the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, the NFL Draft was not a hit everywhere. 

Homeowners who paid for permits to rent their homes, even short-term rental companies, said they did not see the boom they expected. Part of the reason? Twenty-one percent stayed with family or friends, the highest the study consultants saw in 25 years.

"When you bring an event of this magnitude in, not every business in the community is going to do really well," said Brad Toll, Discover Green Bay CEO.