NFL draft: Entertainment aplenty for fans in Cleveland

CLEVELAND — FirstEnergy Stadium was all but empty Wednesday afternoon. No fans. No football players. Just wafts of humidity under the Cleveland sun.

But come Thursday, it’ll be packed to capacity — er, COVID-19 capacity, anyway — with fans turned football players.

If only for a weekend.

The NFL is opening FirstEnergy Stadium to football fans Thursday as part of its Draft Experience, and those who attend the NFL draft will have the opportunity to throw passes, kick field goals and roam the stadium’s natural grass.

Kids can participate in drills under the tutelage of NFL personnel. Fans can also watch the draft from the stadium’s seats.

Coverage will be televised on the jumbotrons atop the bleachers in each end zone.

The draft begins at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We’re very excited. Very honored to use that field,” said the NFL’s director of events, Nicki Ewell, while unveiling the Draft Experience to reporters Wednesday morning.

Of course, the Draft Experience, which will reappear when the event comes to Las Vegas next year, extends beyond the confines of FirstEnergy Stadium.

Football fans can run the 40-yard dash alongside digital renderings of Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, two of the league’s best and most marketable players.

Draft goers can test their vertical jump and can also peruse the NFL’s “locker room,” a tented area that features memorabilia from a player on all 32 teams. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has his jerseys displayed prominently in a glass case that also includes shoulder pads, cleats and a helmet similar to the one he wears on Sundays.

Concessions are available and tables are safely stationed and spaced alongside another knoll across from the stadium. Each of the three nights will conclude with a live concert — the Kings of Leon on Thursday, the Black Pumas on Friday and Cleveland native Machine Gun Kelly on Saturday.

The entire Draft Experience is adjacent to the NFL’s draft theater on the shores of Lake Erie, where the stars of tomorrow will greet NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. The legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located within walking distance, and Ewell said the NFL is intentional about featuring the iconic landmarks in the cities that host the NFL draft.

“We’re really paying homage,” she said. “There were very different iterations of what we’re going to do here in Cleveland and this is one of the ones we came up with. … We want to make sure we have as much space as possible to receive as many fans as possible.”

The NFL is expecting as many as 50,000 fans per day to participate in draft festivities. Ewell said FirstEnergy Stadium in particular was the largest campus in Cleveland available to the NFL.

Inclement weather is a possibility Thursday night, but the Draft Experience is structured to function regardless of the conditions.

Ewell said Cleveland’s ardent, loyal fan base was the main reason the NFL decided to bring the draft to Cleveland. It’s unlikely the city will ever host a Super Bowl, she said, but it’s more than worthy of hosting the draft and could be an option in the future as well.

Browns fan or not, there’s something here intended to engage each and every fan that makes the trek down to FirstEnergy Stadium. The Draft Experience is free, though fans who intend to take part in the activities at the stadium must register ahead of time through the NFL’s OnePass application.

“The draft is a celebration of all 32 (teams), certainly nodding to the Cleveland Browns and the Dawg Pound,” Ewell said. “But all 32 are here.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.