KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The clock is ticking, and Kansas City is less than a month away from hosting the 2023 NFL Draft. Thousands will come from across the nation to participate in the three-day event.
Construction begins today, April 2, on the Draft Theater that will be right out front of Union Station. With the construction comes road closures and traffic issues.
Between Sunday, April 2, and May 7, the westbound lanes of Pershing Road will be closed in front of Union Station between Main Street and Broadway Street (the roadway where motorists can access the Union Station Parking Garage).
April 10 marks the start of building the NFL Draft Experience on the WWI Museum and Memorial grounds.
Read more here about what roads will be impacted.
Unlike other events the city has hosted, like the NCAA Midwest Region games, the Draft set up will cost the city money, but officials say the return is worth it.
"We've asked the city as per our agreement a couple years ago, for $3 million, one-and-a-half from this year's budget one-and-a-half from next year," said Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of the KC Sports Commission. "And that the return on that is a minimum of probably $120-125 million in economic activity. It will actually probably be higher than that."
