The NFL Draft is returning to the Midwest.
Relive Giants history made at the NFL Draft with this Giants.com photo gallery.
NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle poses with the number one overall draft pick Tucker Frederickson, a back out of Auburn. Frederickson was drafted by the New York Giants. The 1965 NFL Draft was held on November 28, 1964, in New York, New York. (AP Photo)
FILE Ron Dayne, Wisconsin tailback and Heisman Trophy winner, talks to reporters Saturday, April 15, 2000, in Madison, Wis., after being picked by the New York Giants in the NFL draft. Dayne was picked 11th overall in the first round.
Eli Manning, a quarterback from Mississippi, holds up a New York Giants jersey while standing next to his brother Peyton, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts at the NFL draft Saturday, April 24, 2004 in New York. Manning was the number one draft pick.
Eli Manning, right, a quarterback from Mississippi, talks on the phone with New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin after the Giants acquired him in a trade with the San Diego Chargers at the NFL draft Saturday, April 24, 2004 in New York.
New York Giants draft pick Eli Manning puts on his new Giants jersey Saturday, April 24, 2004, at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The San Diego Chargers chose Manning with the No. 1 pick overall and the Giants swapped their No. 4 pick.
New York Giants first round draft pick Hakeem Nicks poses with Head coach Tom Coughlin and General Manager Jerry Reese during rookie football minicamp on Friday May 8, 2009 in East Rutherford, NJ (AP Photo/Evan Pinkus)
Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara poses for photographs with guests after he was selected as the 19th overall pick by the New York Giants in the first round of the NFL football draft at Radio City Music Hall on Thursday, April 28, 2011, in New York.
New York Giants first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara poses with coach Tom Coughlin, right, and general manager Jerry Reese, left, during an NFL football news conference at the team's training facility Friday, April 29, 2011 in East Rutherford, N.J.
New York Giants first-round draft pick Prince Amukamara holds up a Giants jersey during an NFL football news conference at the team's training facility Friday, April 29, 2011 in East Rutherford, N.J. In the background is New Meadowlands Stadium.
New York Giants draft day staff during the NFL Draft on Thursday April 26,2012 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (AP Photo/Tomasso DeRosa)
Former NFL player Michael Strahan prepares to announce a selection by the New York Giants during the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio City Music Hall on April 27, 2012 in New York, NY. (AP Photo/Alix Drawec)
New York Giants fans cheer in the first round of the NFL football draft at Radio City Music Hall, Thursday, April 26, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
LSU wide receiver Rueben Randle speaks to reporters after being selected as the 63rd pick overall by the New York Giants in the second round of the NFL football draft at Radio City Music Hall, Friday, April 27, 2012, in New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Rueben Randle is greeted by forner NFL player Michael Strahan after being selected by the New York Giants during the 2012 NFL Draft at Radio CIty Music Hall on Friday, April 27, 2012 in New York, NY. (AP Photo/Ben Liebenberg)
For the first time since 1964, the annual player selection meeting will take place outside of New York City and move to Chicago in 2015, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Thursday.
"We are excited to have fans from throughout the Midwest experience the NFL Draft," Goodell said in a statement that announced the new location. "We look forward to returning the event to the city of Chicago and working with the city, Choose Chicago, and the Chicago Sports Commission to create a week-long celebration of football for our fans. Mayor Emanuel and the city of Chicago presented us with numerous ways to enhance the Draft experience for our fans and incoming players."
The location of the draft -- which is celebrating its 80th year -- will be the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, taking place April 30-May 2, 2015. The NFL Draft was previously held in Chicago in 1938, 1942-44, 1951, and 1962-64.
"Chicago is pleased to welcome the 2015 NFL Draft to America's heartland," Emanuel said in the same press release. "Next year, NFL fans from across the country will travel here or tune in as the future of their team is decided in Chicago. We look forward to working with the Chicago Bears, the NFL, and our neighborhood partners to make this an event that highlights our world class city and reinvests in our communities."
Round 1 will include prospects walking the red carpet on Michigan Avenue, while 32 former NFL legends, one representing each team, will announce selections in Round 2. In addition to the event inside Auditorium Theatre, fan festivities will expand to Grant Park and Congress Plaza.
Coverage of the 2014 NFL Draft reached 45.7 million people across three days, topping the previous record set in 2010 (45.4 million), according to The Nielsen Company.
DRAFT LOCATION HISTORY
1936 Ritz-Carlton (Philadelphia) * 1937 Hotel Lincoln (New York) * 1938 Hotel Sherman (Chicago) * 1939 Hotel New Yorker (New York)
- 1940 Schroeder Hotel (Milwaukee)
- 1941 Willard Hotel (Washington, D.C.)
- 1942-44 Palmer House (Chicago)
- 1945-47 Hotel Commodore (New York)
- 1948 Hotel Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh)
- 1949 Philadelphia
- 1950 Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (Philadelphia)
- 1951 Blackstone Hotel (Chicago)
- 1952 Hotel Statler (New York)
- 1953-54 Bellevue-Stratford Hotel (Philadelphia)
- 1955 Warwick Hotel (New York)
- 1956 Bellevue-Stratford Hotel Rds 1-3 (Philadelphia)
Ambassador Hotel Rounds 4-30 (Los Angeles) - 1957 Warwick Hotel Rounds 1-4 (Philadelphia)
Bellevue-Stratford Hotel Rds 5-30 (Philadelphia) - 1958-61 Warwick Hotel (Philadelphia)
1962-64 Sheraton Hotel (Chicago) * 1965-66 Summit Hotel (New York) * 1967 Hotel Gotham (New York) * 1968-71 Belmont Plaza Hotel (New York)
- 1972 Essex House (New York)
- 1973-74 Americana Hotel (New York)
- 1975 Hilton Hotel (New York)
- 1976-78 Roosevelt Hotel (New York)
- 1979 Waldorf (New York)
- 1980-83 Sheraton Hotel (New York)
- 1984-85 Omni Park Central Hotel (New York)
- 1986-94 Marriott Marquis (New York)
- 1995-2004 Theatre at Madison Sq. Garden (New York)
- 2005 Jacob Javits Convention Center (New York)
- 2006-2014 Radio City Music Hall (New York)
- 2015 Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University (Chicago)
