Minneapolis has officially entered the race to host the NFL’s marquee offseason event, submitting a Minneapolis bid for 2028 NFL Draft at U.S. Bank Stadium.
Wendy Blackshaw, president and CEO of the Minnesota Sports and Events Commission, confirmed the bid to ESPN on Wednesday. The move places Minneapolis among the cities hoping to land one of the league’s most visible annual events.
The proposal centres on U.S. Bank Stadium, the home of the Minnesota Vikings and one of the city’s biggest sports venues.
While no decision has been announced, the timing matters. According to ESPN, the NFL usually chooses a draft site about two years in advance. That means Minneapolis could learn the outcome relatively soon.
NFL 2028 Draft Schedule Sets the Timeline
The NFL Draft is set for Pittsburgh next month, while Washington, D.C., will host the 2027 edition.
With those locations already in place, attention is now shifting toward 2028. That gives Minneapolis a chance to make its case as the next destination for fans, prospects, and league officials.
For decades, the NFL Draft was held in New York every year from 1965 through 2014. Since then, the event has moved from city to city. Recent hosts have included Chicago, Philadelphia, Arlington, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Detroit, and Green Bay. The 2020 draft was held virtually because of the pandemic.
Hosting the draft would bring national attention to Minneapolis and further strengthen its reputation as a major sports-event destination. A successful bid would also add another high-profile event to U.S. Bank Stadium’s résumé. For now, the city’s formal submission marks the first key step in that process.
