CLEVELAND — The economic boost many businesses in Cleveland have been begging for is finally here: The 2021 NFL Draft.
“We are beyond excited. You can feel it in the community. You see it everywhere. I think in many ways, we’re fortunate that this is going to sort of slingshot us out of the pandemic in a way that other cities aren’t getting,” said David Gilbert, the president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and Destination Cleveland.
Gilbert said the 2021 NFL Draft is expected to host upwards of 150,000 people over a three-day period.
That number may seem high, but it’s low compared to previous NFL Drafts, some of which saw 100,000 people in just one day.
“You would see in Nashville (and) Philadelphia, 100,000-plus people, elbow to elbow, as far as the eye could see, you know, almost looking a little bit like Times Square on New Year’s Eve, and we’re certainly not going to have that because of the pandemic,” said Gilbert.
Even hotels like Aloft Cleveland Downtown, which is located in the Flats East Bank entertainment district and is one of the closest hotels to the venue, still aren’t fully booked.
“Thursday, I’ve got about eight or 10 rooms remaining for sale. We actually had some few last minute cancellations without speaking to the people specifically individually. I’m sure it was COVID, pandemic related,” said Bill Reed, the general manager of Aloft Cleveland Downtown.
Reed said without the pandemic, his hotel would have been fully booked a year in advance.
“I’ve been here for quite a while now and events like this NFL Draft, being a Super Bowl-type event if you will, no doubt that the city, surrounding areas (and) suburbs as far out as people are willing to drive would have been full,” said Reed.
Previous NFL Drafts have brought in on average more than $100 million.
Philadelphia raked in $95 million from the 2017 Draft, Dallas reported $125 million for the 2018 Draft and Nashville saw a whopping $133 million in revenue from the 2019 Draft.
Gilbert said while the 2021 Draft won’t compare, whatever it does bring in will be a huge benefit to Cleveland, especially after what cities everywhere have been through since last March with the pandemic.
“It’s certainly not going to be that high. But we anticipate it will still be in the tens of millions of dollars,” said Gilbert. “The economic impact of this could be as high or higher than otherwise would have been given how starved the restaurants and hotels and other businesses, particularly downtown are as a result of COVID. Most of them are probably going to do the kind of business this week that they might’ve done in three or four months combined.”
In 2020, 15.6 million viewers tuned in for just the first night of the virtual NFL Draft from all around the world. In the three days combined, a record 55 million viewers tuned in. This viewership will give Cleveland the chance to prove that it can successfully host large scale events and show people all it has to offer.
“We’re really not looking at it in any way, shape or form around what we’re not getting. We know that right now we are the envy of cities around the country for having this kind of event at this time. And that’s really how we’re looking at it,” said Gilbert. “Our site is amazing with Lake Erie as a backdrop and you have FirstEnergy Stadium and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, our Great Lakes Science Center, our skyline in the background, and it’s going to be exciting for those coming in from out of town and those millions watching from all around the world to see what a great place Cleveland is.”
Clevelanders seem to have a thankful attitude and are looking forward to a sense of normalcy, even with COVID-19 precautions still in place.
“Just get down here and enjoy it, rain or shine, that’s what Cleveland football is all about,” said Gilbert. “We’re so thankful that the NFL chose Cleveland, and it’s our job to show them that they chose the right city.”
