NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Could the NFL Draft be headed to the Music City?
It's a possibility.
The NFL on Thursday announced Nashville is one of five finalists for hosting the 2019 or 2020 NFL Draft.
Cities will be picked at the NFL meetings in May. A city for each year will be selected at that time.
"We are thrilled that Nashville is one of the finalist cities for the 2019 or 2020 NFL Draft," said Amy Adams Strunk, Titans Controlling Owner. "We are so proud of Nashville and all that it has to offer. This city has a number of unique qualities to showcase and of course it knows how to put on a show. We look forward to making that case to the NFL owners in May."
Cleveland/Canton, Kansas City, Denver and Las Vegas are the other finalists, per multiple national reports.
This year's NFL Draft will be held at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas -- the first time the event will take place inside an NFL stadium. The draft will run April 26-28.
After holding the draft each year in New York City, the NFL turned the draft into a road show in recent years, holding it in Philadelphia in 2017, and Chicago in 2015 and 2016. The NFL Draft is bid on each year by NFL cities and is held in the city with the winning bid.
The 2017 draft in Philadelphia, the first time a host city held the draft outside, set an attendance record for the event.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell presides over the first day of the NFL Draft. In previous years, most of the players projected as first-round draft picks are invited to attend.
All three days of the NFL Draft are televised nationally. In recent years ESPN and the NFL Network televised the draft, but the audience will grow even more this year as the Fox Network will start televising the event this year.
Nashville has never hosted an NFL Draft. The NHL Entry Draft was held in Nashville in 2003.
It's expected the proposal would involve a location in downtown Nashville.
In recent years, The NFL Draft has occurred in late April or early May.
