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It will be a test of how well one of the league鈥檚 smallest markets can handle an event that attracts hundreds of thousands of fans. The draft will also put on display the development and amenities around Lambeau Field, highlighted by its nearby tourist attraction Titletown.

The Bills would like to bring the draft to Orchard Park and surrounding areas in Western New York in 2028 or 2029, and like Green Bay, Buffalo is one of the smallest markets in the NFL. So, there will be plenty for the Bills to learn from this year鈥檚 event.

The one big difference is that Green Bay has a neighboring attraction. The new Bills stadium has yet to spawn any spinoff development plans.

Even so, local officials are trying to make properties around the Bills鈥� new $2.2 billion stadium more attractive to potential developers in an area that鈥檚 seen little ancillary development since the team moved to Orchard Park over 50 years ago. The Bills are now part of that planning process.

They have even floated the idea of bringing into the fold an attraction like Titletown that mixes in the live, work and play concept with hotels, retail, restaurants and bars, and apartments and townhomes, as well as recreational facilities.

Bills COO and Executive Vice President Pete Guelli and some members of his business department team plan to attend the draft this year to take it all in and learn from what they see.

It was just last year that the draft brought an estimated 775,000 people to downtown Detroit over three days. In 2019, 600,000 people came to Nashville for the draft, which has been at different selected cities for almost a decade now.

The Green Bay area is expecting around 250,000 people for the event, which starts Thursday. That number could be similar in a place like Western New York.

Buffalo-based Delaware North will play a significant role in most of this year鈥檚 festivities as the concessionaire at Lambeau Field and in managing hospitality spaces at Titletown, including the sledding hill, skating rink, Homefield Pub + Social restaurant and Topgolf and Packers Athletic Club caf茅 and social space. The company also runs 1919 Kitchen & Tap, the bar and restaurant attached to the stadium.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take a lot of coordination to bring this to life. It鈥檚 nerve-wracking to a degree because you have to think about all the different angles, but it鈥檚 really just this massive party and we鈥檙e excited to host it,鈥� said Eric Sampson, general manager for Delaware North at Lambeau Field.

鈥淲e are ready for a Detroit-level experience, but we鈥檒l see if we get that turnout since this is a tougher market to get to. The city is ready for whatever number may come,鈥� he added.

Two years ago, the NFL chose Green Bay as the 2025 draft site and there鈥檚 been a lot of planning going on ever since, said Brad Toll, president and CEO of Discover Green Bay.

Cities have been competing for the draft ever since it left Radio City Music Hall in New York City in 2015. It became a three-day event in 2010.

鈥淭his is something we鈥檝e worked for many years to bring here,鈥� Toll said. 鈥淥nce it left New York, we knew at that point we could host it. Of course, the crowd has gotten a lot bigger now that it鈥檚 outside and the event continues to grow.鈥�

Toll has been to the past six NFL drafts to experience them, even before the NFL accepted Green Bay鈥檚 bid to host. Likewise, the Bills will be in Green Bay to experience the draft with a contingent of staff that鈥檚 studying the event and everything that goes into it, Guelli said.

The Bills will likely be in Pittsburgh for next year鈥檚 draft as well.

鈥淭he league is really strategic, especially when it comes to smaller markets, to make sure it鈥檚 the right fit,鈥� Guelli said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e done a lot of work, and probably more than we needed, just to make sure they understand how serious we are about the project and we want to come off well.鈥�

The NFL tries to tailor each draft to fit the city where it is being hosted. The layout in Detroit was focused on downtown and went down different city streets.

It will be completely different in Green Bay, where Titletown and Lambeau Field will be on display, along with the city鈥檚 exposition center, which opened next to the stadium in 2021, and the 10,000-seat arena at the Resch Center. It will be more of a rectangular footprint. It will also feature a Green Bay flair and cuisine. That means cheese curds, bratwurst and fish fries.

The NFL also tries to give draft host cities a few years to go see the event and experience it to prepare for what鈥檚 ahead. Sampson said he went to Detroit last year and was blown away by the size of the event.

鈥淵ou know it鈥檚 big but then you go and see just how massive. What a beast in terms of what it鈥檚 turned into,鈥� said Sampson, a native of Milwaukee who returned home two years ago to work his dream job at Lambeau Field.

鈥淎ll these businesses have to stretch out to accommodate the mass of people who show up on game day and that鈥檚 become a routine where we鈥檝e developed a standard, but with this, you can鈥檛 just go back to the playbook to figure it out,鈥� he added.

The event will require 700 front-line, guest-facing employees, including 200 volunteers helping out and raising funds for their nonprofit groups.

There will be 25 concession outlets 鈥� 15 outdoor and 10 inside Lambeau Field 鈥� that will be managed by Delaware North, which will serve traditional stadium fare for the masses. That will be for fans who may not have tickets to the theater to watch the draft but are attending the NFL Draft Experience.

Delaware North will also offer more high-end spaces, with the help of the company鈥檚 Patina Restaurant Group subsidiary. There will be 15 premium hospitality spaces with food service and 40 VIP receptions for about 10,000 combined guests over the three days.

The company is bringing in about 60 managers from throughout the country to develop hospitality in nontraditional spaces.

As for the venue, organizers have been down to the final details coming into this week. The footprint of the event was being constructed, with the building out of exhibits, tents and the theater where the draft will take place, Toll said.

Sampson said he is used to being busy at Lambeau Field. About 1,200 events go on at Titletown and around the stadium each year, including weddings and trade shows.

The Bills would also like to see increased activity around their new stadium and have plans to host events at the stadium almost 100 times per year.

鈥淗ere at Lambeau, this thing is always running,鈥� Sampson said. 鈥淚t really is like a convention center that is attached to one of the coolest football stadiums.鈥�

Lambeau is not a new stadium but with all of its history and tradition, it鈥檚 become the engine that鈥檚 spawned many businesses around it and helped bring more professionals and young people to the area, Sampson said. It has much to do with its year-round appeal, thanks in part to Titletown helping transform the area, he added.

That means not only restaurants and retail but also apartments, townhomes, office space, a sports medicine and orthopedics clinic and Titletown Tech, a joint venture with Microsoft helping entrepreneurs launch businesses 鈥� similar to 43North in Buffalo.

The Packers added community recreational facilities, including a football field, skating rink, tubing hill and playground. Even local contractors and small businesses have set up shop in buildings nearby.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really this hub that has a community around it,鈥� Sampson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an interesting place to work and really does everything. It has gravity on a number of different levels. What鈥檚 worked here is that fans are always willing to come because the experience is exceptional.鈥�

Sampson said the draft is an opportunity for further exposure and could be a boon for future tourism.

鈥淭his thing only happens once in a lifetime for communities like ours,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited about what may come in the future, but the reality is this is the biggest thing we鈥檙e likely ever to see.鈥�