Fans Excited For Day 2 Of NFL Draft, Impressed With "Gorgeous" Draft Town Venue
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's Day 2 of the NFL Draft in Chicago, and downtown again will be filled with excitement and people.
An estimated 50,000 people visited Draft Town in Grant Park on the first day of a three-day fan festival outside the Auditorium Theatre, where the draft stage has been set up.
On Friday, with the weekend upon us, and better weather in the forecast, organizers were expecting even bigger crowds for the final two days of the draft.
Gates open at 4 p.m. for rounds two and three, and judging by the reaction of fans on Thursday, there's something for everyone inside Draft Town.
"We were real excited about it being here in Chicago, because it's close to home for us, about two-and-a-half hours away. The first opportunity to ever do something like this," Browns fan Hans Ritter said. "If they keep rotating it, you may not have an opportunity to do it again, so I had to do it. It's real exciting."
Kevin James, of Chicago, said he loves the way the NFL organized the festival, including opportunities to meet some of the game's biggest stars.
"They did an awesome job with it. The venue looks absolutely gorgeous. We've been lucky to get some good weather. Yesterday felt pretty good. They had Michael Irvin and all those guys up there. It was, man, it's really kind of surreal," he said.
Each NFL team has a tent set up in Grant Park, where their fans can congregate. Fans also can get autographs from current and former NFL stars, test themselves NFL style, with a number of skills challenges for kids and a mock NFL Combine.
The NFL even has set up a display from Pro Football Hall of Fame, so fans can celebrate the lore of the game.
The whole carnival will end with a 7 p.m. concert on Saturday, after the draft has wrapped up.
