The 2015 NFL draft will not be at Radio City Music Hall. It might be in Chicago or Los Angeles.
The NFL sent letters today to potential draft hosts in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City today to request more information about their specific plans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. But the host for next year will not be Radio City, which is booked. If the draft stays in New York, it will be at Madison Square Garden.
Although the final date of the draft has not been set, the league has asked its potential hosts about availability for either April 22-25 or April 29-May 2. April 22 and April 29 are Wednesdays, indicating that the NFL is considering starting the draft earlier in the week and turning it into a four-day event. In another indication that the league is trying to make the draft a bigger event, one of the requirements the league has laid down for the potential hosts is that they need to have space for a fan festival in a space adjacent to the actual draft.
The NFL is expected to determine the exact date and location of the draft by the end of the summer.
UPDATE 6:48 p.m. ET: NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirms via Twitter that the league is focusing on Chicago, L.A., and New York for the 2015 draft, but that “other cities remain in the mix.”