GREEN BAY, Wis. — For another few months, part of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame is dedicated to exploring the NFL Draft.
It’s timely as the league’s premier off-season event will be hosted in Green Bay at the end of April.
“When I’m doing an exhibit, I’m always trying to think, ‘If I’m a visitor or a fan coming, what do I want to see?’” said Brent Hensel, the Hall of Fame’s curator. “I kind of wanted to give them an inside look at what the team does.”
He said he hopes to connect both Packers fans — and those rooting for other teams — with the past and current history of the storied franchise.
“It’s better than what you could write in fiction,” Hensel said. “It’s how this small-town team survives and becomes one of the iconic NFL franchises and has more NFL championships than any other team, 13.”
Lambeau Field and the Hall of Fame are often must-see stops for visitors to the area.
Noah Elhardouzi was recently in Northeast Wisconsin from Los Angeles for a college visit.
“I just wanted to come out and check out Lambeau. It’s like the football capital of America,” he said. “It’s super historic and such a pinpoint of American football. Being a big football fan and football player, I wanted to come see what’s up.”
Elhardouzi spent time with his mom exploring the draft exhibit.
“I was checking out this mock-up draft board, and it shows some of my favorite receivers, like Chris Olave, how he was on their board,” he said. “It’s cool to see the behind the scenes of the draft.”
The expectation around Green Bay for draft week is big. It’s no different at the Hall of Fame.
“We’re expecting it to look like it would during training camp or the day before a game. Or the day of a game, the weekend of a game,” Hensel said. “It’s going to be super busy and there’s going to be people from all over the state, all over the country, maybe all over the world converging on Green Bay.”
