The NFL has awarded the 2020 NFL Draft and instead of going with previous cities heralded as future sites, the event has been awarded to Las Vegas.
Per a press release sent out by the National Football League, the 2020 NFL Draft has been awarded to a city without a team—at least a current one. Even then, the one that Las Vegas eventually inherits will be a mess from top to bottom.
The city of Las Vegas was announced as the future site of the 2020 NFL Draft on Wednesday, and the news comes as a slight shock given that other cities who have put up solid bids, ones that were even heralded in the past, were overlooked once again. One such city is Kansas City, who have raised their hands, again and again, to be a draft site (and has received praise accordingly) only to watch the league award other cities.
Nashville will host the 2019 NFL Draft, and the city of Dallas had the honors this past spring. Chicago and Philadelphia have enjoyed the honors in previous years ever since the league allowed the weekend-long extravaganza to leave its longtime New York home—primarily at Radio City Music Hall.
“The Raiders are very excited for Las Vegas and are proud to help host the 2020 NFL Draft,” said Raiders owner Mark Davis, per the statement. “Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world and will provide a tremendous experience for the NFL and its fans.”
Of course, it is the arrival of the NFL in a new city—Sin City!—that makes it the right time to bring it to town. It’s an attempt to garner as much “Go NFL!” goodwill in a town that has proven to be a great site for the National Hockey League. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Vegas in 2020.
That said, it’s frustrating that yet another year goes by and Kansas City continues to wait like a good market. There’s no leverage for K.C. to get it anytime, other than the NFL deciding to award a good citizen. There are no voters to woo for further tax incentives at this time. The Chiefs aren’t a threat to leave. The Chiefs are simply a well-run organization with passionate fans that have put forth an excellent proposal—one easy enough to leave on the shelf.
The Chiefs were named as a finalist for the 2019 NFL Draft. They were also named a finalist for the 2020 NFL Draft. Now K.C. has to, yet again, hold out hope that the NFL will reward them for simply being who they’ve always been—and hope the powers-that-be have run of out other places to flirt with or manipulate.