It was no secret that when Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank began his push for a new stadium for the team, his desire was to bring a Super Bowl back to Atlanta as the host city.
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But according to a report from ESPN.com, Blank wants another premier NFL even to be hosted in the South’s Capitol City.
The NFL Draft.
The league has been toying with the idea of using cities other than New York to host the annual event, and Blank wants in on that party.
I’d love to see it in Atlanta,” Blank said of the draft. “We have the facilities to host it here, as well. The [World] Congress Center would be a fabulous place to host it. Our new stadium would be a great place to host it as well. So, I would love to see the draft move around. That would be great.”
The NFL offices are in New York, and certainly there is plenty in the way of hotel accommodations, public transportation and simply the allure of the city and Radio City Music hall, so there may still be a long way to go before the draft finds any new homes.
“We’re looking at everything,” commissioner Roger Goodell said. “We think that the draft has a great deal more potential to grow in popularity. We don’t believe [the date] affected us in a negative way at all this year. Date and location are probably the two primary issues for us to decide.”
The Falcons brand new $1.2 billion stadium is scheduled to open in 2017, and Atlanta will certainly put in their bid for the 2019 Super Bowl if things stay on schedule. Could an NFL Draft work in a city like Atlanta? Sound off in the comments section below and let your opinion be heard.