Packers tease possibility of undisclosed major event at Lambeau Field this year
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers are working on a major event to be held at Lambeau Field this year.
In the wake of the disappointing news that Detroit will host the NFL draft in 2024 – Green Bay was one of three contenders – the Packers told the Green Bay/Brown County Football Stadium District board Monday that a major event at Lambeau Field is a good possibility.
"We are very confident we will be able to do this," Aaron Popkey, director of public affairs, said of the event.
Popkey did not disclose what the event would be or when. Past major events at Lambeau Field included concerts by Billy Joel and Paul McCartney, and a University of Wisconsin-LSU football game.
The Packers have said they would like to hold a major event at Lambeau Field each year, but were not able to in 2020 and 2021 because of the COVID pandemic.
The Packers disclosed as much as they did about the event to the stadium board because they would like all of the ticket tax money from that event to go toward securing the NFL draft in 2025 or later. The stadium district can apply an up to 10% tax on tickets for events at Lambeau.
"The team would like to see a commitment from as many community organizations as possible to show the NFL they have support," said Patrick Webb, executive director of the stadium district. "I don't think there is any other thing we can fund that would have the impact of the draft being here."
How much money the ticket tax would raise is not known. The amount would depend on the price of tickets and how many tickets are sold, and would not be fully known until after the event.
The Packers and local organizers will continue talking to the NFL about bringing the draft to Green Bay.
"The Packers will be leading that with a significant amount of money," Popkey said. "We don't imagine (the draft) offsetting what we put into it."
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In the other cities where the draft has been held, including Chicago, Philadelphia, Nashville and Cleveland, the NFL teams were not heavily involved. The draft was awarded to the organizing entities in those cities. That will be different for Green Bay, the smallest market in the NFL, because Packers participation would be needed, in terms of both money and manpower.
"We are proud of the bid that Discover Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers provided the NFL and are excited to continue working with them to bring this spectacular event to the Green Bay area in the future. We remain optimistic on that opportunity," said Nick Meisner, vice president of marketing and communication for Discover Green Bay, the local tourism bureau.
Popkey said the draft would not be a money-maker for the Packers, although it is estimated it would provide a more than $90 million economic impact to Wisconsin, most of that in the Green Bay community. That would be an equivalent economic impact of six Packers home games.
Stadium board members approved a motion supporting efforts to obtain the draft, but delayed until their June meeting a decision on the financial commitment, when they hope to have more information on this year's major event.
Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or rryman@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Packers tease possibility of major event at Lambeau Field this year
