As the NFL toys with the possibility of making the Scouting Combine a glitzy, prime time show in a venue like Los Angeles, officials from Indianapolis’s tourism bureau want the league to commit to keeping it where it is.
Currently, there’s only a commitment for one more year in Indianapolis.
“Retaining the NFL Scouting Combine is paramount, as they have met here since 1987 and we only have them booked through next year,” Chris Gahl, senior vice president of Visit Indy, told the Indianapolis Star. “We are hopefully optimistic that in the next months, the NFL will make a decision and the Combine will remain safe and sound in Indianapolis.”
Indianapolis officials estimate the Combine brings in about $10 million in economic impact for the city. The NFL could easily make the Combine a bigger deal by moving it around from city to city like the draft, and more attention to the Combine would probably make the draft an even bigger event as well. Indianapolis is eager to get into the draft rotation, but doesn’t want to see the Combine similarly move around.
Colts owner Jim Irsay has suggested his city doesn't have enough amenities to currently host the draft, though the validity of that statement seems a little suspect.
“Indy’s got to get the draft,” Colts owner Jim Irsay said Saturday, via the Indianapolis Star. “We’ve got to get the draft, but to have that, we’ve got to have the hotels.”
Indy had enough hotels to host a Super Bowl in 2012. The larger challenge, and what Irsay likely meant, was that every other city is vying for the draft as well. To get the call, Indy has to be as attractive as possible.
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