National Football League commissioner Roger Goodell announced that the annual rookie selection will take place in the Windy City, an NFL draft 2015 Chicago announcement revealed on Thursday.
Goodell said in statement that the league is excited to bring the rookie draft to Chicago after the city edged other bidders for the event. The commissioner said that Windy City presented that most impressive bid to have an exciting week-long festivity next year.
"We are excited to have fans from throughout the Midwest experience the NFL Draft," Goodell said of NFL draft 2015 Chicago. "We look forward to returning the event to the city of Chicago and working with the city, Choose Chicago, and the Chicago Sports Commission to create a week-long celebration of football for our fans."
Several cities and NFL teams participated in the bidding for the event with sources indicating that Chicago and Los Angeles were the finalists in the selection process. In the end, the league opted to return to Windy City to the delight of Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.
Emmanuel said in a statement that the NFL draft 2015 Chicago will be held at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University from April 30 to May 2. According to the Mayor, the event will give them an opportunity to showcase their city to their neighbors, while also letting his constituents experience the event first hand.
"Chicago is pleased to welcome the 2015 NFL draft to America's heartland," Emmanuel said. "Next year, NFL fans from across the country will travel here or tune in as the future of their team is decided in Chicago. We look forward to working with the Chicago Bears, the NFL, and our neighborhood partners to make this an event that highlights our world class city and reinvests in our communities."
The league was forced to look for a new venue because the traditional venue - the Radio City Hall in Manhattan - is unavailable next year. Chicago previously hosted the event nine times before moving to New York City in 1964.
