NFL Draft stages, explained: Inside the NFL's Green Bay Lambeau Field setup

Morgan Moriarty

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NFL Draft stages, explained: Inside the NFL's Green Bay Lambeau Field setup image

Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 NFL Draft isn't being hosted in your typical metropolitan city. That's because this year's event is being hosted by Green Bay, Wis., home of the Packers.

In recent years, big cities like Detroit, Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Nashville have hosted the draft, which makes 2025's location — the smallest NFL market that's ever hosted the multi-day event — especially unique. As prospects' names are called onto the stage, they'll shake Roger Goodell's hand in the shadow of Lambeau Field. 

So, how did this year's NFL Draft stage come together? The Sporting News spoke with the NFL's senior director of events, Nicki Ewell, to find out. 

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Green Bay NFL Draft Stage

The 300-foot draft stage will be positioned adjacent to Lambeau Field. It will sit in the northeast parking lot of the stadium, right in front of Green Bay's Resch Expo Center, which was completed in 2021. 

The expo center, which is directly behind the stage, will be home to the green room. That's where prospects will wait to hear their names being called and celebrate with family and friends afterward. 

"The lot across from the Resch Center is where our draft theater is," Ewell said via phone interview before the draft. "Which is home to 2,000 seated guests. There are 32 teams, and each team sent 14 fans to sit in the bowl of the theater. They create that environment of the backdrop for television."

Behind those fans in the general theater area is expected to be a sea of Packers fans. 

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Although Green Bay first bid for the draft in 2016 — one year after Chicago hosted the draft — it took them nearly 10 years to finally get awarded the opportunity to host. Part of securing that bid included the development of Green Bay's Titletown district — which will host draft events all week long — and the expo center, in addition to adding luxury hotels to a town that only had 4,300 hotel rooms in 2017. 

That number has grown to 5,000 in Green Bay's Brown County, plus another 5,000 in Appleton and Oshkosh, both of which are within a 60-minute drive of Green Bay. 

Ewell admits there are several advantages to hosting the draft inside of a stadium, as the NFL did at Dallas' AT&T Stadium in 2017. But the viewing area outside Lambeau alone will encompass 250,000 square feet. From the parking lots to the 45-acre Titletown district, most of the draft and draft-related events will be outside of Lambeau Field. 

Lambeau can seat over 80,000 people, but having the majority of the event outside the stadium allows the draft to host the hundreds of thousands of fans, broadcast crews, and draft personnel expected to be on hand.   

"The broader campus of the draft has really expanded, "Ewell said. "We're up to almost 70 football fields of programming, and the most ideal scenario for us for the draft is that the theater, which is a mega 300-foot long stage, and the draft experience is collocated. So, it's all this free-flowing event where you can watch what's happening on the main stage, but you could also go into the Bud Light beer hall, or go to the clinic field and play football." 

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2025 NFL Draft Experience 

The NFL Draft Experience is an entirely free fan event. Those looking to go just need to visit nfl.com/draftaccess and download the NFL OnePass app. The experience lets fans enjoy games, sponsored experiences, and youth activities. 

If fans don't want to attend the experience itself, there are plenty of other things to do and see throughout the weekend. 

"Over by the northwest gate, you have a huge NFL shop location," Ewell said. "We have our Vince Lombardi trophy, we have our rings on exhibit. We have a huge Bud Light beer hall, so it's really expansive. As a fan, you can come in one of the entries, and you can move through the spaces."

One of the coolest parts of this year's draft? The opportunity to kick a field goal and participate in a Lambeau Leap inside of iconic Lambeau Field. 

"We're doing something really special at Lambeau," Ewell said. "Fans have the ability to be upgraded for free to get on the field — actually on the grass — to kick a field goal, to do the Lambeau Leap."

The red carpet will also be down on the field, so fans will be able to see some of the biggest first-round names on Thursday. Some of the top picks on hand in Green Bay for the first round include Travis Hunter, Cam Ward, Abdul Carter, and Ashton Jeanty. 

"All of the local businesses are keeping 100 percent of their revenue," Ewell said. "So, it's a great local economic impact story in addition to creating an experience. It's very reflective of the community that we're in, using both the state of Wisconsin and the traditions of the Packers." 

NFL Draft Schedule 2025 

Here's a look at the full draft schedule for rounds one through seven: 

Dates

  • Thursday, April 25 (Round 1)
  • Friday, April 26 (Rounds 2-3)
  • Saturday, April 27 (Rounds 4-7)

Start times

  • Thursday, April 24: 8 p.m. ET
  • Friday, April 25: 7 p.m. ET
  • Saturday, April 26: Noon ET

The 2025 NFL Draft will begin at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 24. The Tennessee Titans hold the No. 1 overall pick, followed by the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants at Nos. 2 and 3, respectively.

Detroit saw over 770,000 fans attend the draft last year. Green Bay's number might not be quite that large, but there are expected to be several hundred thousand fans in attendance. 

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Morgan Moriarty

Morgan Moriarty joined The Sporting News as a content producer in the fall of 2024. Her sports journalism career started at the University of Florida in 2012, where she graduated in 2015. She has covered college football and basketball, the NFL and numerous other major sports for outlets like the Tampa Bay Times, Saturday Down South, UPROXX Sports and SB Nation. She also covers college football for Bleacher Report, and is a featured guest on various CNN programs.