Prospects Will Be Ferried to Red Carpet by Boat at 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas

The NFL is really going over the top for its first draft in Las Vegas.

The NFL is really going over the top for its first draft in Las Vegas.

The league presented its plans for the event to the Clark County Commission on Tuesday morning, everything from attractions for fans, to road closures, to—oh yeah—the boat.  

With the red carpet set up literally on the water of the famed Bellagio fountains, it will be impossible to watch the beginning draft and forget that the event is taking place in Vegas. It will also necessitate a rather unusual plan for getting players to the draft stage.

They will be transported by boat. 

The stage for the 2020 NFL Draft in Las Vegas will be on the water at the Fountains of Bellagio. The players will be transported to the stage by boat. pic.twitter.com/8sVl8p2ZBx

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) January 21, 2020

“We couldn't think of anything that was more Vegas than to deliver our prospects and their families to the red carpet by boat,” NFL vice president of live events John Barker told the commission. “Every prospect will arrive at the red carpet by boat and then they will exit by boat and then they will hit the processional heading toward the main theater stage.”

Every draft prospect will be delivered to the stage over the Bellagio fountain by boat. #vegas #nfldraft pic.twitter.com/t2KSI6LCMv

— Mick Akers (@mickakers) January 21, 2020

The red carpet area includes a stage but that will not be where Roger Goodell’s podium will be set up for announcing picks. (That stage will be used for musical performances.) The league is taking over a nearby parking lot and setting up 1 million square feet of space for draft festivities, including the main stage area. That’s where the green room will be set up, so players can simply walk to the stage and shake the commissioner’s hand instead of having to endure an awkward ride on a pontoon boat.