Green Bay Int’l Completes Blitz of Improvements Before NFL Draft

Faced with predictions about tens of thousands of extra passengers flying in for the National Football League Draft in late April, Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) did what any good host in Northeast Wisconsin would do: It spruced up the place to make a good impression—especially on first-time visitors to the home of the Green Bay Packers.

“When you fly into Green Bay, our airport serves as the front door to the community. So it was important to be ready for this influx of people and to visually put our best foot forward,” says Airport Director Marty Piette. “We wanted to create the kind of environment that would encourage people visiting Green Bay for the first time to come back and spend a little more time here.”

The “sprucing up” at GRB began almost three years ago and included $12.3 million in terminal improvement projects. To prepare for the operational challenges, staff called on prior experience handling surges of traffic. When the Packers play at home, for instance, it’s not unusual for the airport to handle 150 general aviation aircraft on game days.

But three days of NFL Draft festivities are a totally different matter.

“This is our Super Bowl,” Piette said in March, as the April 24 to 26 Draft approached. “We’ve had playoff games that are pretty big events, but those are limited to one day. This was the largest event the city and our airport has ever accommodated.

“It was daunting,” he recalled of the very prospect. “It took a lot of planning to be sure our operations would be efficient and safe. We worked closely with all of our stakeholders, from terminal concessionaires and our fixed base operators to law enforcement officials, the FAA and the TSA. There were a lot of moving pieces.”

For perspective, GRB typically serves about 20,000 passengers on a busy week. During the week of the Draft, the airport served about 39,700 passengers, with traffic peaking the days before and after the event. On Sunday, for instance, there were 2,365 outbound passengers, compared to around 1,000 on a normal Sunday, Piette says.

Furthermore, the airfield typically logs about 30 commercial arrivals and departures on Sundays. But on the Sunday after the Draft, the airport logged 48 commercial inbound and outbound flights.

Additional Service

Months ahead of time, three of the airport’s five primary passenger carriers added flights to accommodate increased demand. United and American Airlines each added one flight to and from Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) the day before and the day after the Draft; Delta Air Lines added two flights to and from Atlanta International (ATL) and at least one more to/from Detroit Metropolitan (DTW) and Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP).

American Airlines added a non-stop flight from LaGuardia Airport (LGA) the day before the Draft and a return flight the day after, while Delta added non-stop flights from LGA, Salt Lake City International (SLC) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on the same two days.

Local travelers also received special consideration. For those who didn’t want to contend with the 240,000 to 250,000 people expected for the Draft, Delta added a non-stop flight to Orlando International (MCO) the day before and one back to GRB the day after.

“A lot of people rented their homes on Airbnb and left town,” says Piette.

With two six-gate concourses, the airport had enough infrastructure to accommodate the additional flights. “We just had to look at the gate allocations as airlines started adding flights and consider where they could park the planes and what gates they could use at what times and for how long,” Piette explains.

To beef up ground transportation options, GRB worked with on-site rental companies to ensure there would be enough inventory on hand to accommodate increased demand.

Fast-Tracked Upgrades

Airport leadership also accelerated several “front-of-house” projects, including a fresh exterior paint job in dark blue to match the GRB logo.

The two largest projects involved rehabbing a large canopy at the front of the terminal and repaving the long-term parking lot (about 1,700 spaces), short-term parking lot (about 200 spaces) cellphone parking lot and about a half mile of service and access roads.

Together, those upgrades cost about $8.2 million. Work occurred from May 2022 to October 2023. The paving work was completed first, followed by the canopy upgrade, performed by Immell Construction.

The airport also replaced a sidewalk canopy that runs the length of the curbside area to protect passengers from the elements. Initial plans called for rehabbing it along with the main canopy, but contractors determined the sidewalk canopy had deteriorated to the point where it was unsalvageable.

As a result, the airport installed a new cantilevered canopy built by Immell, along with new footings and sidewalks. Work started in May 2024 and finished in March 2025.  The total cost for this work was $4.1 million.

The airport replaced two exterior canopies to prepare for NFL Draft week.

Mead & Hunt Inc. served as the design and engineering consultant for the canopy projects and also managed their construction.

Improvements were funded with an FAA grant, state aid from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Aeronautics and money from the $1.2 trillion Federal Infrastructure and Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2021.

A Welcoming Vibe

Inside the terminal, NFL Draft logos and references were added to wayfinding signs, restaurant décor and menus. The airport also installed a Green Bay Packers heritage display with authentic vintage equipment—helmets, shoulders pads and the like—from the 1919 team. An area that honors war veterans was added as well, with special emphasis on the airport’s namesake. Straubel was a major in the U.S. Air Force and the first aviator from Brown County killed in World War II.

This display highlights the heartwarming tradition of Packers players riding local kids’ bikes to practice.

Despite all of the extra duties NFL Draft weekend required, the airport did not have to hire any additional employees.

“We’re fortunate to have a pretty great staff,” Piette remarks.

While no firm figures were immediately available, Piette estimates the airport will experience slightly less than a 25% bump in revenue due to increases in passenger facility charges, airfield fees, concessions sales and rental car revenue.

Piette considers proper prior planning the number one way to prepare for an onslaught of extra visitors like the Draft brought. Aligning all stakeholders and communicating with them proactively was also key, he adds.

“You need to be sure everyone is on the same page at the same time,” says Piette.

To achieve this, airport leaders held frequent meetings with stakeholders and GRB’s Marketing Department sent out weekly updates.

The Main Event

The Draft, which attracted more than 600,000 attendees, required significant preparations outside the airport grounds. The logistics included lodging for thousands of workers and vendors, road closures, traffic control, garbage collection and safety/security measures for attendees.

“This was the largest event to ever come to the Green Bay area,” says Brad Toll, president and chief executive officer of Discover Green Bay. “It was our Super Bowl. The sheer number of details that went into planning something like this really is remarkable. We worked with the NFL on this for two years.”

The event was staged in the parking lots at Lambeau Field and at the adjacent Titletown Park and Entertainment District and the Resch Complex across the street from Lambeau Field.

Erecting the main stage was itself a massive project that took about one month.

“There were a lot of people working on that site,” says Toll, who compared the process to constructing a building.

In fact, 3,000 of the estimated 5,000 hotel rooms available in Green Bay were reserved for workers, vendors, NFL staff and so forth.

“All of these people were eating, shopping and buying things like gas and food for about a month before the Draft and until May 10th, when everything was disassembled and removed,” Toll says. “Everything left over, from carpeting to fencing, was donated to local charities.”

The preliminary economic impact is estimated at about $90 million statewide and at least $20 million for Green Bay alone. The impact is felt statewide because visitors stayed overnight in cities as far away as Milwaukee, about 120 miles south. Data from previous NFL Drafts indicates that 60% to 70% of attendees usually drive to the event.

A Storied Football Legacy

Why was Green Bay—the NFL’s smallest market—chosen to host the prestigious event?

It’s deep and enthusiastic connection to football was a major factor.

“The city is home to the iconic Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers, one of the most storied franchises in NFL history,” explains Nicki Ewell, senior director of events for the NFL. “Lambeau Field is synonymous with football, and its legacy as one of the most iconic stadiums in the world certainly added excitement to our decision.

The airport has historically strong ties to the Green Bay Packers.

“Green Bay also offered a unique blend of passionate fans and a vibrant local culture. This city’s commitment to football and its ability to bring the community together made it an ideal choice for the Draft, and we were excited to bring the event there for the first time.”

Ewell says the key factors considered when choosing a city to host the Draft are the ability to handle large-scale events, a passionate fan base, a rich football tradition and sufficient infrastructure to support fans, media and participants.

“Green Bay checked all of these boxes,” she remarks. “While Green Bay may be smaller compared to some other cities that have hosted large-scale events, what it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in heart. The community is incredibly engaged and passionate about football…and the support from the community exceeded our expectations.”

For perspective, the city of Green Bay has about 108,000 residents—compared to 556,000 in nearby Milwaukee or about 630,000 in Detroit, which hosted the event in 2024.

“Hosting the Draft was a big feather in our cap,” says Toll. “We were really excited to have the event here, both for our local residents and residents of Wisconsin. This probably was a once-in-a-lifetime chance for many Wisconsin residents to attend the Draft more easily. The fact that it was held in our backyard is pretty cool.”

“Everything went very well on our end,” Piette reports. “There were no long backups at the screening checkpoint. The longest wait was about 12 minutes. All of our preparations really paid off.”