Indianapolis ‘Fighting’ to Keep NFL Combine With Future Uncertain

Indianapolis ‘Fighting’ to Keep NFL Combine With Future Uncertain

The NFL Scouting Combine takes place this week in downtown Indianapolis, where the event has been held every year since 1987. Indianapolis wants to keep it that way long-term—but as the annual gathering of top draft prospects continues to grow, that’s no longer a guarantee.

In 2021, the league began allowing other cities to bid on hosting the combine, as it does for the Super Bowl and NFL Draft, and requiring Indianapolis to do the same. The current contract for Lucas Oil Stadium and the adjacent Indiana Convention Center to host runs through next year’s edition. And even though Indianapolis is popular among almost all regular combine attendees, anything is on the table for 2027 and beyond.

If the combine were to move or rotate, plenty of NFL markets with indoor venues could theoretically make sense as hosts:

Atlanta
Dallas
Detroit
Houston
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Minneapolis
Nashville (new stadium opening 2027)
New Orleans
Phoenix
At last year’s combine, the NFL hosted officials from Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Nashville, and Phoenix to discuss hosting a future edition. But the league isn’t trying to make any news about the combine’s future this week.

“We understand there are a number of markets interested in exploring hosting the event,” an NFL spokesperson told Front Office Sports. “Our focus is on staging a successful combine in Indianapolis [this] week and in 2026.”

Indy Tradition

After the NFL’s shift in strategy in 2021, Visit Indy, the city’s tourism authority, started working with the Indiana Sports Corp, a local nonprofit, to beef up its NFL combine bidding efforts.

Indiana Sports Corp president Patrick Talty told FOS that while there are “always discussions happening,” formal talks about 2027 and beyond are still yet to come. “We’ve been working so hard and fighting so hard to keep it that we haven’t really talked about the ‘what if,’” Talty said when asked about the potential of Indianapolis losing the combine.

But Talty understands why the NFL is shopping the event around. “They also have a duty to make sure that they’re putting the events in the right places and getting the best leverage out of their assets,” he said.

The Contenders Are …

With the combine potentially up for grabs, officials from Houston and Minneapolis expressed specific interest in hosting when contacted by FOS, but made it clear that the combine isn’t their first choice for major NFL events.