NFL Draft to move to different locations in future?

The 2014 NFL Draft will not take place in April thanks to a scheduling conflict with Radio City Music Hall. The draft will instead be held from May 8-10, extending that particular part of the offseason by a couple weeks.

While there has been much discussion about the date of future drafts this offseason, perhaps we should be focusing more on its location in the future. I say that because Sports Illustrated's Don Banks reported this week that the NFL may be planning to take the draft on the road in the future, perhaps to as many as three cities in one year. Here's one potential setup:

Imagine this potential scenario playing out as soon as 2015: The first round and first night of the NFL draft unfolds in Chicago; the second night and rounds two and three take place in Detroit; and the draft concludes with day three and rounds four through seven in Minneapolis. If you're getting a distinct NFC North theme to the proceedings, you're on the right track. And just such a geographically varied draft format could be coming to a division near you in future years.

The NHL takes its draft on the road to a different city each year, and it seems to do quite well from an attendance standpoint. Given that the NFL is even more popular, I think you could easily fill up at least half of an arena for the draft. It has become such a large event that the NFL could probably even sell tickets if it wanted to, and the atmosphere would an interesting change if it went from city to city.

While it's always fun to watch Jets fans react to their team's picks, I think it's time to give fans of other teams more accessibility to this event. Whether that means three cities for one draft or one city bidding to host the event, this seems like a good way to make the draft even more entertaining in the future.