Courtesy NFL Communications
2019 NFL DRAFT TO BE HOSTED IN NASHVILLE
Massive Free Fan Festival and Draft Celebrations to Span Historic Downtown District
The 84th NFL Draft will take place on April 25-27, 2019 in Nashville, incorporating iconic city landmarks across the Music City stretching from Lower Broadway to Nissan Stadium.
The announcement was made today at the annual Spring League Meeting in Atlanta following a review of the proposal by the Super Bowl & Major Events Advisory Committee and full ownership. This is the result of a comprehensive evaluation process over the past several months of plans submitted by various cities to host the 2019 NFL Draft.
“Following an exciting and successful event in Dallas, we’re thrilled to take the NFL Draft to Nashville. The city has a passionate fan base and offers iconic locations that will enable us to expand the Draft in unique ways,” said NFL Commissioner ROGER GOODELL
. “We look forward to working with the Tennessee Titans, the City of Nashville, and the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp to deliver a memorable celebration of football to our fans and incoming players.”The NFL Draft returns to primetime with Round 1 on Thursday, April 25. Rounds 2 and 3 will follow on Friday, April 26, and Rounds 4-7 will conclude the event on Saturday, April 27.
As part of the event, the NFL Draft Experience Presented By Oikos Triple Zero® – a massive free football festival – will allow fans of all teams to participate and test their football skills, enjoy interactive exhibits and autograph sessions, and take pictures with the Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Draft Experience will be open all three days of the event.
“We are thrilled for the city of Nashville, our fans and our team, that we have been selected to host the 2019 NFL Draft,” said AMY ADAMS STRUNK, Tennessee Titans Controlling Owner. “The city and the Titans put a lot of effort into this proposal and we can’t wait to see it come to life next year. I personally would like to thank Commissioner Goodell and the NFL for this opportunity; Metro Nashville Government, led by Mayor David Briley; Butch Spyridon at the CVC; Scott Ramsey at the Sports Council; and all those who have contributed to this effort. Nashville is known as an entertainment destination and we look forward to showing the football world what that looks like on a very big stage.”
“Nashville is honored to host the 2019 NFL Draft. We are prepared to deliver a unique Music City experience and an NFL-caliber event,” said Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp President and CEO BUTCH SPYRIDON. “I would like to thank the Titans and owner, Amy Adams Strunk, for their support and the NFL for their confidence.”
The NFL Draft has grown into one of the biggest and most-anticipated sporting events of the year. The 2018 event set a record as the highest-rated and most-watched Draft ever, eclipsing the previous record set in 2014. The 2018 Draft marked the first time that the entirety of the event was aired on broadcast television, which helped attract more than 45 million total viewers over three days of coverage. The Draft achieved a combined 3.57 HH rating and average of 5.5 million viewers across NFL Network, FOX, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes. The event also created tremendous fan engagement across social platforms with the 2018 NFL Draft being the second-most talked about sports event of the year so far, behind only Super Bowl LII.
DRAFT LOCATION HISTORY
| Draft | Location | City |
| 1936 | Ritz-Carlton | Philadelphia |
| 1937 | Hotel Lincoln | New York |
| 1938 | Hotel Sherman | Chicago |
| 1939 | Hotel New Yorker | New York |
| 1940 | Schroeder Hotel | Milwaukee |
| 1941 | Willard Hotel | Washington, D.C. |
| 1942-44 | Palmer House | Chicago |
| 1945-47 | Hotel Commodore | New York |
| 1948 | Hotel Fort Pitt | Pittsburgh |
| 1949-50 | Bellevue-Stratford Hotel | Philadelphia |
| 1951 | Blackstone Hotel | Chicago |
| 1952 | Hotel Statler | New York |
| 1953-54 | Bellevue-Stratford Hotel | Philadelphia |
| 1955 | Warwick Hotel | New York |
| 1956 | Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (Rounds 1-3) | Philadelphia |
| | Ambassador Hotel (Rounds 4-30) | Los Angeles |
| 1957 | Warwick Hotel (Rounds 1-4) | Philadelphia |
| | Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (Rounds 5-30) | Philadelphia |
| 1958-61 | Warwick Hotel | Philadelphia |
| 1962-64 | Sheraton Hotel | Chicago |
| 1965-66 | Summit Hotel | New York |
| 1967 | Hotel Gotham | New York |
| 1968-71 | Belmont Plaza Hotel | New York |
| 1972 | Essex House | New York |
| 1973-74 | Americana Hotel | New York |
| 1975 | Hilton Hotel | New York |
| 1976-78 | Roosevelt Hotel | New York |
| 1979 | Waldorf | New York |
| 1980-83 | Sheraton Hotel | New York |
| 1984-85 | Omni Park Central Hotel | New York |
| 1986-94 | Marriott Marquis | New York |
| 1995-2004 | Theatre at Madison Square Garden | New York |
| 2005 | Jacob Javits Convention Center | New York |
| 2006-2014 | Radio City Music Hall | New York |
| 2015-16 | Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University | Chicago |
| 2017 | Benjamin Franklin Parkway | Philadelphia |
| 2018 | AT&T Stadium | Dallas |