By Alex Barth, 985TheSportsHub.com
Due to the CDC recommending limited crowd sizes as the Coronavirus pandemic spreads, the NFL will not hold it’s yearly draft as a public event. Multiple sources reported the news Monday morning.
According to a statement from the league, the league will go on with the draft as scheduled, but there will be not be hosting any public events for fans in Vegas that week.
The statement reads, in full:
In consideration of current information related to COVID-19 and guidance from medical experts such as the CDC, and in coordination with public authorities in Nevada and the City of Las Vegas, the NFL will modify its plans for the 2020 NFL Draft, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced today.
The clubs’ selection of players will proceed as scheduled April 23-25. The NFL is exploring innovative options for how the process will be conducted and will provide that information as it becomes available. The selection process will be televised.
Public NFL Draft events in Las Vegas next month will not take place.
“This decision reflects our foremost priority — the health and safety of all fans and citizens,” Goodell in a statement. “While this outcome is disappointing both to the NFL and to the Las Vegas community, we look forward to partnering with the Raiders, the City of Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority for a future NFL Draft as well as evaluating opportunities for other major NFL events in Las Vegas in the future, including the Super Bowl.”
As for what will replace the public spectacle of the draft? According to the statement, “the NFL is exploring innovative options for how to handle the process,” and more information will be available soon.