The 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay had an estimated $80 million economic impact in Brown County, exceeding earlier projections by nearly $60 million.
That’s according to an economic impact report released yesterday by Experience Greater Green Bay that was conducted by market research firm Sportsimpacts. It focused on the local and statewide impacts of this year’s NFL Draft, held April 24-26 near the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field.
Along with driving economic activity in Brown County, the study found the event had a statewide impact of nearly $105 million. That’s above an earlier projection of $94 million.
Sportsimpacts also found Green Bay had more than 360,000 unique visitors for the draft, updating an earlier estimate of more than 312,000 unique attendees released by the city.
Brad Toll, President and CEO of Discover Green Bay, notes the event gave the city an international spotlight for three days.
“Each and every event we bring into Green Bay exposes our region to new audiences, both in-person and through media,” he said in a release. “This was a larger stage than most, and we’re thrilled visitors had a great experience that will bring them back and inspire them to encourage friends and family to visit. The long-term benefits of this success will be felt for years to come.”
Thirty percent of all attendees were from outside the state, and more than 83% of those coming from outside Wisconsin were visiting Green Bay for the first time, the study found. It also shows 85% of attendees drove to Green Bay for the draft while 14% flew and others took a train or charter bus.
Among the non-local visitors, 21.4% stayed with local family or friends for the draft. Sportsimpacts notes that’s the largest percentage for this measure it’s seen for an event in 25 years of consulting, “highlighting the regional draw and ‘homecoming’ effect for Packers fans.”
Green Bay Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said “while we’re pleased with the economic impact, the broader community impacts from the Draft will also leave a lasting legacy.”
Meanwhile, local tourism organization Discover Green Bay points to findings from data analytics platform Zartico showing change in overall spending was up 145% during the event based on cellphone and credit card tracking. Spending was also up 20% in “key tourism” categories, the report shows.
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