NFL's Draft Town set to open Thursday
Fans who weren't lucky enough to get tickets to the Auditorium Theatre for this week's NFL draft can still enjoy the experience.
Draft Town, the NFL's free outdoor fan festival, will occupy 900,000 square feet of space at Grant Park and Congress Plaza. Tickets are not required.
Draft Town is open all three days of the draft (Thursday-Saturday) and features family-friendly activities for fans of all ages. There will be live music, food, free autograph opportunities, interactive games, photo opportunities and many locations from which to view the televised coverage of the NFL draft.
Draft Town will be open from 4 to 10 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; a free concert concludes the festivities on the final day.
The first round of the draft, which hasn't been held in Chicago for 51 years, begins at 7 p.m. Thursday (ESPN and NFL Network). Rounds 2 and 3 are Friday night, beginning at 6 p.m. The draft concludes with Rounds 4-7 beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
In Chicago, WBBM 780-AM, WSCR 670-AM will broadcast throughout the draft, with 105.9-FM filling the gap during Cubs games on WBBM.
The Bears own the seventh overall pick in the first round of the draft and also select seventh in the second round (39th overall), in the third round (71st overall, and fourth round (106th). They pick sixth in Round 5 (142nd overall) and seventh in Round 6 (183rd). The Bears do not have a seventh-round pick.
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