NFL Draft in Green Bay: Homeowners cash in on rentals
2025 NFL Draft, Green Bay
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Green Bay-area homeowners look to cash in on next week’s NFL Draft. New data reveals the draft weekend is seeing more green for Green Bay.
Gearing up for the Draft
What we know:
Green Bay is expecting the 2025 NFL Draft from April 24-26 will the city’s largest event ever with estimates of more than 200,000, maybe even 300,000 people packing into Titletown for the sports extravaganza.
However, Green Bay doesn’t have enough hotels for all those people. The area has an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 rooms. Many people will be staying in hotels across eastern Wisconsin.
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Others are choosing to rent short-term rentals on sites like AirBnb and Vrbo.
Short-term rental market
By the numbers:
The Green Bay short-term rental market is seeing a doubling of bookings and a doubling of prices.
By April 10, more than 1,030 nights were booked for the three-day period of the draft, according to AirDNA, a firm that collects and analyzes short-term rental data for millions of properties, including Airbnb and Vrbo.
During the same Thursday through Saturday time period in 2024 (April 25-27), 409 nights were booked in the Green Bay market by April 10, according to AirDNA. That means the area has seen more than a 150% increase in short-term bookings during the NFL Draft.
Property owners are seeing a spike of 121% in prices they’re charging during the NFL Draft week, compared with the same time last year.
This year, the average daily rate for the Thursday, Friday and Saturday is $562.74, according to AirDNA. Zooming in on April 26, 2025, the average rate is the highest, at $604.14. For the comparable three days in 2024, the average daily rate was $254.59, according to AirDNA.
Bookings increase
What we know:
AirDNA pulled the data for FOX6 on April 10.
"Of course, we expect the number of bookings to increase as we approach the date. What happens to the price will depend on the level of excitement for the event and how quickly those rooms book up, but I wouldn't be surprised if they hold at this high level or even grow slightly," said AirDNA Director of Economics and Forecasting Bram Gallagher.
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Green Bay has seen growth in short-term rentals in the past year.
"Capacity in the Green Bay STR [short-term rental] market has expanded over the last year, with a typical month having about 800 different listings for much of 2024. By September/ October and the start of the new football season this had increased to around 1,050 listings. Of those, 886 were made available for April 24-26 2025, up from 494 during the same period last year," Gallagher said of the data compiled on April 10.
Economic impact
Dig deeper:
Organizers of the Green Bay event estimate a $94 million economic impact on Wisconsin. Some of that money will be through these vacation rentals.
Economic analysis of the last NFL Draft in Detroit found a record-setting economic impact for the area around Detroit topping $213 million, including $161 million from visitors.
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News with assistance from AirDNA.