2017 NFL Draft Location: Latest Rumors and Buzz on Philadelphia and More

With the NFL draft likelyleaving Chicagoafter two years in the city, much of the buzz for the 2017 edition has revolved around the city of Philadelphia.Continue for updates.Philadelphia Reportedly Will Be Named 2017 Host City in AugustWednesday, July 27TheNFLis reportedly set to name Philadelphia as the host city for the 2017 NFL draft, two sources toldMatt Lombardoof NJ Advance Media. The league will make that announcement onTuesday, August 2, or Tuesday, August 9, according to Lombardo.U.S. representative Bob Brady already said in early July that the draft was headed to Philadelphia, perWendy Rudermanof Philly.com:The NFL wanted to come here, which is a good start. I talked with the mayor. The mayor had a concern about money because he didn't want to put the city in debt, rightfully so, so we had to go around and see if we could get some people that would help finance it, and I think we were kind of successful.We've been dealing with this for the past couple of weeks, maybe three weeks, and [Mayor Kenney] just called me this afternoon and told me that we got the NFL, that the city is going to do it and he feels comfortable that the people who said they were going to help raise the money are going to do it.Brady also discussed that the league reportedly wanted to host the event outdoors on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a stretch of road that leads from Philadelphia's downtown to the Art Museum and the steps that Sylvester Stallone famously ran up inRocky:They are going to do it out in the open on the Parkway for three days. It's a three-day draft. They are going to build a stage, and I'm sure they are going to put up some type of enclosure in case it rains. But that's what the NFL wanted. They wanted to do it right on the Parkway, I think, I don't know but I would imagine, with the Art Museum as the backdrop. They wanted to come here and do that so we just had to guarantee them money.However,Ruderman noted in that report thatthe NFL'svice president of communications,Brian McCarthy, and MayorKenney spokeswoman Lauren Hitt both denied that a deal was in place between the league and Philadelphia.NFL CommissionerRoger Goodell did confirm that there was mutual interest between the NFL and Philadelphia in April, tellingJohn Clarkof CSN Philly: "They're one of the cities bidding. We're interested in Philadelphia, among other cities."The draft took place in New York for 50 straight years (1965-2014), before the NFL decided to move the event to different cities. Los Angeles has also been a consideration, whileAtlanta, Canton, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Green Bay, Jacksonville, Los Angeles and Pittsburgh have also expressed interest in hosting the event in the coming years, perDan Parrof NFL.com.The draft last took place in Philadelphia in 1960. The city has held several large events of late, including the pope's visit in the fall and the Democratic National Convention currently taking place.Interestingly, the Philadelphia Eagles won't have a first-round pick for the hometown fans to cheer (or boo) in the 2017 draft. They traded that selection to the Cleveland Browns in theblockbuster dealthat allowed the Eagles to move up to the No. 2 pick in this year's NFL draft and select quarterback Carson Wentz.You can follow TimothyRapponTwitter.
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