GREEN BAY Wis. — The 2025 NFL draft will be held in Green Bay, providing a major economic boost for the area.
Business owners and restaurant staff are already preparing for the influx of people a year from now.
Adam Wahler is a cook for Pancake Place. He has lived in cities where big NFL events have come to town, including San Diego. Wahler said he is interested to see how a city like Green Bay will handle the big crowd.
“Kind of seeing what it does to even a city of a couple million people,” Wahler said. “They’ve got all this stuff set up. You’ll see this little bit of something happening here on TV, but they’ll have things all over related to it that nobody even knows about.”
Wahler is a Marine Corps veteran, so he said he knows how to deal with pressure. He works with his team to make sure everything runs smoothly during busy times. He said he walks a few miles at work a day just to keep up with the rush.
“You can’t really do this any faster without either making a mess or hurting yourself,” Wahler said. “They call for something that’s in the freezer, you got to go get it. They’re running through their supplies all day. We have containers of backups ready to go for when they need it. So, there’s a lot of interruption, a lot of starting and stopping with tasks.”
The City of Green Bay is starting to get ready for what’s to come next year. Firefighters and law enforcement are learning from the Detroit Fire Department, which just went through the 2024 NFL Draft.
Chief Matthew Knott said communication during events of this size is crucial.
“I’m excited about showcasing our city and what we have to offer on the national stage,” Knott said. “I think it will be very exciting for all of us. We look forward to seeing how this all comes together and ultimately, deliver a successful show, and make sure the draft in ‘25 will be memorable.”
Wahler said he’s excited about the draft coming to the place he calls home. He said he will try to make it to some of the festivities but will likely be working a packed house.
“Every building is only so big,” Wahler said. “There are only so many [people] we can feed in a given day. So, it’s nice to have our doors full and our seats full when we are open during those events.”