There’s a tiny, temporary suburb coming to Chicago. The National Football League is taking over Roosevelt College’s Auditorium Theatre and part of the Windy City’s Grant Park to build a 900,00-square foot “Draft Town.”
As its name implies, the event will celebrate the NFL’s draft. The organization will construct a series of open air structures that will host attractions, museums, and seating for people to watch the draft go down, the first three rounds of which will be inside the historic Auditorium Theatre, with the final round taking place in “Selection Square.”
These open-air, temporary structures are a great idea, as similar fabric structures are quite weather resistant, offering wind load rating from 75 to 120 miles per hour, and snow load or live load ratings ranging from 12 to 40 pounds per square foot. In other words, Draft Town will happen, regardless of what the weather has to say about it.
Renderings of Draft Town show long, open-ended arched structures that will be put over Chicago’s streets, with areas set aside for team tents. Buckingham Fountain serves as the event’s background, and will be lit up with each team’s colors as their respective selections are announced.
Draft Town will have several other attractions. The Chi-Chef’s kitchen will offer fans a sampling of Chicago-style eats from a variety of the Windy City’s best restaurants. The Combine Corner will give sports lovers the chance to try out NFL combine drills, like the vertical jump or the 40-yard dash. The Sweetness Simulator is a wind tunnel skydive simulator that lets participants float in the air. There will also be NFL Play 60 private youth clinics, family football clinics, flag football tournaments for both youths and adults, and even a Super Bowl museum.
As for the actual draft, the Chicago Bears, who walked from the 2014 season with a 5-11 record, have the seventh draft pick. CBS Sports predicts the team will choose Nose Tackle Danny Shelton.
