Philly set to welcome draft in grand way
PHILADELPHIA » Yo, Roger, they did it.
When the NFL chose Philadelphia to host the 2017 draft, it quickly became clear one of the world’s most famous movie locations would be the perfect site to hold the three-day extravaganza.
“We had talked about a couple different venues for the NFL and they wanted the Rocky steps and they wanted the Art Museum,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney told The Associated Press. “So that’s what we gave them. It will be a terrific event.”
Perhaps NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will run up the famous steps before announcing the No. 1 pick. Those same steps immortalized by fictional hero Rocky Balboa 41 years ago will serve as the backdrop for the elaborate stage, including a 3,000-seat, open-air theater, being constructed along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the NFL’s first outdoor draft.
The free event is being called the largest fan experience ever produced by the NFL. More than 200,000 people are expected to visit the half-mile area next week to enjoy the festivities. The first round begins Thursday night.
“There was no better way to highlight the city of Philadelphia than to showcase some of its most iconic venues — from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to the Franklin Institute,” NFL spokesman Kamran Mumtaz said.
Some tourists and residents in the area have been grumbling for weeks about the lack of access to sidewalks and roads, and about the giant stage blocking most of the iconic “Rocky” steps.
Sadly, visitors won’t be able to run up those steps and raise their arms triumphantly at the top the way Sylvester Stallone did in the movie.