NFL Draft construction complete, ready for fans on Thursday

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On Thursday, thousands of fans will descend upon Liberty Memorial and Union Station for the first round of the NFL Draft.

On Wednesday, event officials said they expected to hit their capacity of approximately 60,000 people for the Fan Experience area.

Nicki Ewell, part of the team managing the Draft, encouraged fans to come ready for heavy crowds.

She said the league would immediately publish information for visitors if the event hits its capacity.

“This isn’t the World Series or Super Bowl parade where 100,000 people can just converge downtown,” Ewell said. “There’s going to be a capacity and we expect to hit that on Thursday, but we do have opportunities to come on Friday and Saturday, as well.”

She recommended spending several hours at the Fan Experience, which features dozens of vendors, interactive displays and a large Chiefs-centered area.

Ewell said the Chiefs area was the largest team-centered area the NFL has featured at the Draft. It includes a double-decker bus from the Super Bowl parade, and demonstrations of KC’s tailgate culture and notoriously loud crowds. Fans can also pick up air fresheners scented to mimic an Arrowhead tailgate.

Lara Krug, a Chiefs marketing executive, said it smelled like smoky barbecue.

“We’re so proud of what this city has done,” Krug said.

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