NFL accepting bids to host scouting combines in 2023-28
The NFL Scouting Combine could soon have a new home.
The NFL informed franchises Wednesday it is now accepting bids to host the combine each year from 2023-28, according to Mickey Shuey of the Indianapolis Business Journal. The league has staged the annual event in Indianapolis since 1987.
Though the combine may soon be leaving Indianapolis, the city's tourism agency plans to submit a "highly competitive" bid for the next available years of the event, Visit Indy vice president Chris Gahl told Shuey.
"As the event has grown, so has the city physically," Gahl said. "This is an event that we have proudly hosted and helped grow along the way, and one we want to viciously protect keeping in Indy beyond 2022."
The league staged a significantly scaled-down version of the combine in Indianapolis in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But the 2019 event generated an $8.4-million economic impact for Indianapolis and as much as $10 million in media exposure for the city, according to Shuey.
The NFL already accepts bids for annual hosting duties for the Super Bowl and the draft.