2 lawmakers push for $2 million in the state budget to help pay the costs of the Packers hosting the NFL draft

MADISON - Two Green Bay-area lawmakers are asking colleagues crafting the next two-year state budget to include $2 million to pay for costs associated with the Green Bay Packers hosting the National Football League draft in 2025.

Rep. David Steffen and Sen. Robert Cowles, both Republicans from Green Bay, said the money would cover a portion of the expected costs to the Packers to host the event, which Cowles and Steffen said could cost $7.5 million overall.

The measure would require the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to provide a grant to the Experience Greater Green Bay Corp., according to a draft of the budget motion Steffen's office provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday.

The league awarded Green Bay the 2025 draft during the league meeting Monday in Minneapolis. The Packers estimate 240,000 people will attend the draft in Green Bay, generating a $94 million economic impact statewide and $20 million locally. Kansas City reported 320,000 visitors for the 2023 draft held in April.

“A $2 million investment for a $94 million return is phenomenal," Steffen said in a statement. "I am proud to have advocated for state support of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, given the significant positive financial impact this event will have on our state."

Cowles said, "with a reasonable request to ensure the event goes off without a hitch and that we put our best foot forward, Northeast Wisconsin and the entire state would be able to see a great return on our investment."

Rep. Kristina Shelton, D-Green Bay, also told the Journal Sentinel she supports the idea.

Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, who oversees the Legislature's budget-writing committee, said the committee is "aware of the request by the Packers for the state to provide financial support for the NFL draft."

"Conversations about this request are ongoing as part of the larger budget conversation," Born said when asked whether the Republicans who control the budget committee plan to support including the allocation in the state budget.

A spokeswoman for budget committee co-chairman Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said Marklein had no comment.In other cities, local organizing groups take the lead in hosting the draft. Because Green Bay is the smallest market in the NFL, by a lot, the Packers will be more involved than other NFL teams normally are.

"This is something we've been working on for a while," Packers President and CEO Mark Murphy said on a video on Packers.com. "It's very rigorous. It's basically right behind bidding on a Super Bowl. You've got a lot of cities that want to host it because you know the economic impact. This is basically a two-year commercial on all the benefits Green Bay has to offer."

Richard Ryman of the Green Bay Press-Gazette contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: $2 million sought in Wisconsin budget to help Packers host NFL draft