CHICAGO — Mayor Rahm Emanuel made his best rush Wednesday to keep the NFL draft in Chicago, as the nation's biggest sports league weighs its options for next year.
ESPN is reporting that Philadelphia "has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Chicago as host of the draft beginning in 2017."
Emanuel made his pitch a day before the NFL Draft returns Downtown, a repeat of the sports spectacle that drew thousands of football fans to Grant Park last year.
"Every [other] city will be 'NFL village.' If you want a town, you got to come to Chicago," Emanuel told reporters. "No other city can offer you Grant Park. No other city knows how to put on big events that you want. "
And, he added, noting the cloudy, chilly, mid-40s day in Chicago, "No other city can give you football weather in the middle of April."
The remarks came a few days after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters it's "very unlikely" the draft returns to Chicago next year.
Though last year's draft here was well-received, Goodell hinted the NFL now will rotate the league's biggest offseason event through different cities. Goodell also told the NFL Network on Wednesday morning it's possible multiple cities will host future drafts simultaneously.
City officials said that last year's draft delivered an overall $82 million economic impact, $44 million of which was direct spending. The Chicago Park District gave the NFL a 97 percent discount on its Grant Park rental this year after letting it use Grant Park for free last year.
City officials defended the discount, citing the draft's tourism boost and the NFL offering free admission to its Draft Town festival.
RELATED: Grant Park Rental Worth $3.2 Million, But NFL To Pay $103,000
Emanuel pivoted from questions about losing next year's draft to a discussion of Chicago's hosting of the 2017 NHL draft, an event Emanuel said would not be possible if the city hadn't pulled off last year's NFL coup. The city also is hosting the yacht race America's Cup this summer for the first time.
"Each thing leads to the next one. We’re now the gold standard," Emanuel said. "Every city will be measured against Chicago — not against New York — and that means we’re going to have [the NFL] back."
Last year's draft in Chicago was the first here in decades after being traditionally held in New York. Like last year, this year's draft will include a free fan festival that was unprecedented before the event came to Chicago.
"Let’s just be frank and honest: They had it in New York for years, [the NFL] didn’t know what they had, and I said, 'If you bring it to Chicago, we’ll show you what the NFL draft can be,'" Emanuel said. "The first sell is your hardest sell; after that you just keep acting with the mindset that you got to earn the business every time."
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