When thinking about viable host locations for the NFL draft, big cities like New York, Chicago and Philadelphia immediately spring to mind. Heck, even Las Vegas is a place that will almost certainly host the draft soon, now that the Oakland Raiders are headed to the desert.
One place that doesn’t get mentioned much but that should is Canton, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On that note, Canton is angling hard to land one of the upcoming drafts, specifically in 2019 or 2020.
Zac Jackson of TheAthletic.com recently reported that Canton, which is undergoing some serious renovations, believes it will be ready to at least co-host the league’s annual extravaganza by the year 2019.
The Hall of Fame has submitted bids to host in 2019 or 2020, though Hall of Fame president David Baker has said he can’t guarantee Canton would land the event.
“But we are going to fight for it,” Baker said, per Jackson.
Provided the project to modernize the facilities, which includes building a “hotel, entertainment venue, up to 20,000 square feet of meeting space, retail space and a Center for Excellence that could cover as much as 134,000 square feet,” the Hall of Fame should get a chance to host the NFL draft.
It only makes sense to provide juxtaposition of the league’s storied past with its bright future at some point.