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The 2020 NFL Draft, the 85th annual event where organizations draft the stars of tomorrow into the league, will proceed as planned…well, kind of.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the NFL has decided that despite the outbreak of the Coronavirus, the NFL Draft will still be held as scheduled, from April 23rd through April 25th.
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NFL Cancels All Public Events in Vegas
While the actual NFL Draft will still take place, all draft day events have been canceled. Garafolo has reported that the NFL is currently “exploring innovative ways for how the process will be conducted.”
In the meantime, the NFL, NFLPA, LVCA, and the Las Vegas Raiders released a joint public statement on the Raiders’ official website that they’ve decided to cancel the 2020 Las Vegas NFL Draft Celebration due to health and safety concerns.
After careful consideration, the Las Vegas Raiders, the NFL, the NFLPA and the LVCVA have decided to cancel the 2020 Las Vegas NFL Draft celebration. Health and safety has always been our top priority, so despite it being a major disappointment, this was the right decision. I would like to thank Governor Sisolak and the LVCVA for all of the passion they put into creating an event that would have been second to none. Although Las Vegas lost this chance to shine, there will be many more opportunities to show the world just what Las Vegas is made of. Whether it be the Draft, the Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl, the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World is ready!
-Mark Davis-
The NFL Draft in Las Vegas Was Gearing Up to Be Epic
2020 was set to be the first time that the NFL Draft will be held in Las Vegas, and in many ways would have served as an official introduction of the newly anointed Las Vegas Raiders to the rest of the NFL world.
As you could expect based on early renderings released by the Raiders via Twitter back in January, the event looked primed to be a theatrical gathering of future stars and NFL fanatics.
Your first look at the 2020 #NFLDraft 👀
The NFL and the Raiders were set to go all-in with the inaugural NFL Draft in Sin City. The Bellagio Hotel & Casino was set to host the red carpet event in which boats were planned to take draftees to and from the stage.
We are currently unsure how the NFL will handle these sort of specifics now, but at least the players still get to enjoy the exhilarating moments of draft day, albeit maybe not to the same degree as players that have come before them.
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