Next April, the Green Bay and Fox Valley regions will have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to look forward to: the NFL Draft.
With an estimated 250,000 people expected to be in attendance, the effects are far-reaching, especially with lodging. Brown County, home of Green Bay, has 4,800 hotel rooms, which are all booked, mostly by NFL affiliates.
In addition, over 1,000 rental homes (such as Airbnb) have been rented out for the week, as reported by the Green Bay Press Gazette.
To help alleviate demand, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) will open its Camp Scholler property, which is the onsite campground for the annual AirVenture Fly-In each July. For the ten-day period of April 19-29, visitors in town for the Draft will have the option to camp on EAA’s grounds before the campground closes to prepare for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2025 in July.
“With hundreds of thousands of football fans coming to northeast Wisconsin, accommodations are at a premium, and people have asked if we would be available to assist,” said Chris Farrell, EAA Director of Events, in an obtained press release. “As our drive-in campground is well prepared for large groups during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and other events, we are able to open Camp Scholler for 10 days while the football world is focused on Green Bay.”
EAA officials add that its proximity to Green Bay off of the 41 interchange gives it a distinct advantage to the NFL community in town for the Draft. Campers will receive 2 complimentary tickets to the EAA Museum, as well as a discount to Barnstormer Boutique inside the museum. Both passes are good for one year.
