NFL draft host cities: Where it's been held recently, 2025 location, history

The NFL draft has been on a decade-long road trip that arrives this year in the Motor City of Detroit.

The league's 32 teams will restock their rosters with new talent while a huge gathering of fans from all across the country cheers (and occasionally boos) the selections. It's an annual spectacle the league is happy to spread around to maximize fun and exposure.

While the draft has been held in many different locations since the inaugural one in Philadelphia in 1936, it was a fixture for 50 years in New York City. In 2015, however, the league began taking its show back on the road.

Where is the 2024 NFL draft being held?

The 2024 NFL draft begins on Thursday, April 25 and runs through Saturday, April 27 at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit.

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Previous NFL draft locations

While the NFL draft has a long and storied history in New York City, this past decade isn't the first time the draft has been moved around.

The inaugural NFL draft in 1936 was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. (Heisman Trophy winner Jay Berwanger was the No. 1 overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles, but he never played a game for them.)

From 1936 to 1964, the draft moved around to several cities, often for several years in a row. Among the hosts over that span: Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Washington, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Los Angeles.

Starting in 1965, the draft found a rather permanent home in New York City, which hosted the proceedings for the next 50 years.

NFL draft locations, 2015-2024

Starting in 2015, the NFL has taken place in these host cities:

• 2015: Chicago
• 2016: Chicago
• 2017: Philadelphia
• 2018: Arlington, Texas
• 2019: Nashville
• 2020: Draft held virtually due to COVID
• 2021: Cleveland
• 2022: Las Vegas
• 2023: Kansas City
• 2024: Detroit

Where is the 2025 NFL draft being held?

The 2025 NFL draft will take place April 24-26, 2025 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.