GREEN BAY, Wis. - During night one of the NFL draft here, the city's sweeping, near 4.5-million-square-foot draft campus hit capacity before 6:30 p.m. central time - with an estimated 80,000 people gathered around Lambeau Field, according to security personnel.
That's about 75% of Green Bay's total population, and more people than can fit inside Acrisure Stadium during a sellout.
So how are people across Wisconsin getting to the draft? That's one issue that Pittsburgh officials, gathered in Green Bay to prepare for next year's three-day draft event, are paying close attention to - particularly with threatened service cuts to public transportation looming in the not-too-distant future.
Green Bay Metro, which runs the city's transportation services, offers free shuttles between the draft footprint and downtown Green Bay every 15 minutes throughout the draft. Bus lines typically run every half hour, but routes were modified to accommodate draft-related road closures.
Service started at noon and ran until 11 p.m. Thursday night, with six stops downtown and another six around Lambeau Field. The same schedule was planned for days two and three of the draft.
Downtown Green Bay, Inc. Executive Director Jeff Mirkes said keeping the service free was a top priority.
"We are promoting that this is the most convenient way to get to Lambeau," Mr. Mirkes said. "Catch a bus here, and it's a direct route, and the drop off point is very close to the draft entry."
Running into roadblocks
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Regional Transport - which oversees the city's bus, rail and incline services - said it may have to slash service by 35% before February 2026 if the state does not provide $117 million of additional funding. Next year's NFL draft will be in April.
Current projected unfunded costs are expected to reach $650 million by 2029, PRT has said. Cuts would eliminate 40 of the agency's 95 bus routes, reduce service on 33 others and cut funding for extra services during events - including Steelers games, concerts and the draft.
In Green Bay Thursday morning, Visit Pittsburgh CEO and President Jerad Bachar said officials planning the draft are already having conversations with PRT and holding public meetings to identify what resources they'll need for transportation throughout the draft. And this week, PennDOT and the city's Department of Mobility and Infrastructure are in Green Bay taking notes on best practices.
"We're looking hard at what they're doing, while they're doing it," said David Morehouse, Pittsburgh Steelers executive vice president. "[PennDOT is] actually with them right now while the Green Bay counterparts are coming upon problems.
"They're running into roadblocks - literally - so they're fixing them, and our people are seeing how they're doing that."
Green Bay's draft footprint is located about 3 miles from its downtown, where draft week events are also held. The Draft Theater, where picks are announced, is behind Lambeau Field, and the Draft Experience - a festival with food, drinks and games - is set up in lots around the stadium.
In Pittsburgh, things will look different.
The theater will be located outside Acrisure Stadium, but Point State Park will house other festivities - marking the first time NFL draft events will traverse a river, said Ashley Hamilton, the NFL's director of event location strategy and planning.
"We're trying to gain as much information as we can, and have a transportation plan that fits the site that we're using," she said.
Where is everyone coming from?
At the draft Thursday night, two volunteers in a fan services booth said they traveled from afar to work the event.
Leslie Millane, from the Milwaukee area, was staying an hour north of Green Bay because of steep prices at hotels in town. Amy Brownson, from Oshkosh, drove about an hour every day to the stadium.
Over 70% of attendees drive to the draft, according to an analysis of previous years by Discover Green Bay. On night one, fans who gathered around the Draft Theater made the trip from Madison, about two hours away, and other cities and towns throughout the Green Bay metro area and beyond.
Some drove themselves in, while others took public transportation.
That's a consideration for Pittsburgh, too - PRT's proposed cuts would discontinue service to 19 municipalities and several Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
But public transport is not the only way to access the draft campus in Green Bay.
The Wisconsin Tavern Guild's SafeRide program is also active throughout Brown County this week. The free shuttle service, organized by establishments that serve alcohol to reduce drunk driving, is offering rides until 3 a.m. throughout the draft.
That's an idea Mr. Morehouse said he had not previously considered and will bring back to Pittsburgh.
Officials are also looking for ways to make the city as navigable as possible for pedestrians throughout the draft.
"From a fan experience standpoint, way-finding - making sure that people know where to go without having to wander around and try to find their way - is something that I think we can continue to improve upon in Pittsburgh, especially when you have two different sites [hosting draft events]," Mr. Bachar said.
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This story was originally published April 25, 2025 at 3:42 PM