As if the Las Vegas Raiders’ inaugural season wasn’t enough for Vegas to handle in 2020, Sin City will get an early taste after the NFL announced Las Vegas would play host to the 2020 NFL Draft on Wednesday afternoon.
It was already announced that the 2019 Draft would be held in Nashville, but this is the first time that an NFL Draft will be in a city without a team. Later that year, the Raiders will be making their debut on the Strip. That is, unless something happens where the Raiders need to be relocated a year early.
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In a press release put out by the NFL, commissioner Roger Goodell said, “The NFL Draft is one of the most-anticipated events of the year and we’re excited to take it to Las Vegas. We look forward to working with the Raiders, Las Vegas officials and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to create an unforgettable week-long celebration of football for our fans, the incoming prospects and partners.”
This comes after Las Vegas made their NFL Draft debut during the third day of the draft 2017. Selections were announced by Governor Brian Sandoval and Governor-elect Steve Sisolak in front of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
Nevada Governor @GovSandoval makes our 4th round selection from fabulous Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/Hr3wlFcrcc
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 29, 2017
Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak makes our 5th round selection from Fabulous Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/qfayRDCzhb
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 29, 2017
Las Vegas will be the sixth city to host the draft. It was held every year in New York City at Radio City Music Hall up through 2014. Beginning in 2015, they began to make the NFL Draft a rotating spectacle for fans across the country. The draft was in Chicago in 2015 and 2016 before going to Dallas and Philadelphia the two subsequent years.
Las Vegas was originally named as one of the five finalist cities for the 2019 and 2020 Drafts alongside Nashville, Cleveland, Denver and Kansas City. The Raiders currently have two pick in the first round of the 2020 draft.
#Browns issue statement on Las Vegas being selected to host 2020 NFL Draft pic.twitter.com/Id6nC69don
— Nate Ulrich (@ByNateUlrich) December 12, 2018
The draft is expected to be a star-studded one with several big name quarterbacks eligible including Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa, Georgia’s Jake Fromm, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Washington’s Jacob Eason. Plus, depending how these next few seasons go, the Raiders could be in the market to have one of these future stars under center on Day 1 in Las Vegas.
The Draft will take place from April 23–25, and the exact location has not yet been announced.
