The Past, Present, And Future Of The NFL Combine In Indy

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One of the challenges for the future is to balance the event's growth with its intended purpose.


"You strip all this away, it's grown in hype and it's grown in pomp and circumstance, it's grown in viewership with national prime time, with the public being able to step into Lucas Oil Stadium to see portions of the workouts," Gahl said, "yet at the end of the day, this event - the purpose, the objective is to put 400 or so college athletes through a rigorous amount of testing - psychological, in-person, and physical, so that NFL owners can make a decision on who they want to draft."


The NFL Combine is an event any city would covet. And the bigger it gets, the more in demand it becomes.


Jeff Foster is president of National Football Scouting. Based in Indianapolis, Foster and his team spend 365 days a year thinking about, talking about, and planning for the NFL Combine.


"There's no question there's a lot of value to us being in Indianapolis and it's not just the history, it's not just the people and experience year after year that manage the event and the pieces around the event," he said. "It is truly the investment of the city and the individuals who are playing different roles for us - it's really their commitment and their pride in this event that make it go so smoothly, especially when we make significant changes like we have."


Foster, his team, and their partners make it look easy. But what you don't see is the work that goes on behind the scenes.


"Without question, logistically, this is the most complex event the city hosts year in and year out," said Gahl. "It's because it involves the convention center, the stadium, a level of security on par with hosting a Final Four or a Super Bowl mixed in with 1,500 national, international, domestic media, and 400 visitors - college athletes - who have very different schedules and who have to be moved to very specific places at very specific times within the Downtown area."


That's where the walkability of Indianapolis comes into play - players and team executives can get around Downtown quickly, efficiently, and safely - no matter what time of day.


"Last time I looked, there were about 65 employees per club here - so when they come and stay in Indianapolis, they can walk indoors the entire time and go from their hotel room to anything they need from a restaurant standpoint and then into our two secure venues to do all the examinations and watch the workouts in comfort in February, even when it was snowing outside," Foster said.


It's always 70 degrees and sunny in Lucas Oil Stadium, the convention center, and the skywalk - and visitors are greeted with a warm welcome to match.