NFL officials outline April draft plan for Green Bay: dates, campus, security and transport

City officials heard a detailed presentation on plans for the NFL Draft in Green Bay, which organizers said will run April 24–26 with a site lockdown the day before and phased build and road closures beginning March 29.

Representatives from the Green Bay Packers, the NFL production and events teams, Discover Green Bay and NFL security described a temporary “draft campus” centered on Lambeau Field, the event schedule and hours, a staged load-in starting March 29 and full site buildout through May 6, ticketing and fan-registration via the NFL 1 Pass app, transportation and parking coordination, and security measures including magnetometer screening, vehicle checks and a temporary flight restriction.

The presentation matters because it lays out the operational timeline, public-safety measures and access plans that will affect residents, local businesses and downtown traffic in the weeks before and during the draft.

John Barker, head of global event operations and production for the NFL, told the council the draft “is about hope” and described the temporary theater and broadcast set that will be erected near the stadium. Ashley Hamilton, an NFL production staff member, and other NFL operations speakers gave precise event hours: round 1 on Thursday, April 24 (gates and Draft Experience opening at noon; theater onstage production beginning about 7 p.m. and ending about 10 p.m.), rounds 2–3 on Friday, April 25 (gates noon; theater roughly 6 p.m.–11 p.m.), and Saturday,…