GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – The towering stage of the NFL draft is something only a select few cities have been able to see over the last 10 years. Yet, the NFL Draft with 3C Presents executive producer Ben Blocker has been a part of every one of them.
“Right now we’re in the phase of production load in,” he said. “In our world, that’s audio, that’s LED screens, that’s lighting, all of the kind of tech aspects of the show.”
A lot has to be packed into the massive draft stage, which is 270 feet wide, 200 feet deep, and 90 feet tall. To put it into perspective, it’s roughly the size of 10 outdoor concert stages.
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“It’s a big sail up there, which makes it very unsafe when it’s not fully assembled as it’s engineered to be,” Brian Trujillo, NFL draft with 3C Presents director of operations, said. “The wind’s been a bit challenging. We build in insurance days for weather, and we definitely have used them.”
Fortunately, 3C Presents production team members, who have worked on the draft ever since it left Radio City Music Hall for Chicago in 2015, have been able to stay on track by having a flexible schedule.
“The days where we have heavier winds, we shift our work to some of our inside pieces, keep it moving,” Blocker said. “Then we shift it back when the good weather returns.”
The crew, more than a thousand strong, is responsible not only for the draft stage but also for he entire draft campus and road closures, which the city and county have to approve of.
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“It starts with us drawing on a piece of paper the areas we need to operate the venue, the site,” Trujillo said.
The stage is growing and more roads are closing weekly, as Blocker hopes residents and visitors alike are able to appreciate one of the most unique fan events in the world.
“This is, in my mind, the coolest event the NFL does,” he said. “It’s them giving back to the fans. It’s a free, open show that’s kind of unheard of in our world.”
