Nashville awarded 2019 NFL Draft, beats out Denver bid to host event

As expected, the NFL Draft will not be making its way to the Mile High City.

The league officially awarded Nashville with the 2019 NFL Draft, beating out four other cities bidding for the honor, including Denver, the Canton-Cleveland area, Las Vegas, and Kansas City.

The pick is IN!

Nashville will host the 2019 #NFLDraft! 🏈🎸 pic.twitter.com/sy8cUxmyao

— NFL (@NFL) May 23, 2018

In a statement early Wednesday, Broncos president and CEO Joe Ellis congratulated the city of Nashville but also expressed disappointment in Denver’s failed bid.

“Even though we came up short, we’re proud of our bid and the hard work that went into our proposal. It showcased the attractiveness of our city along with the beauty of Red Rocks and the great football fans of this region,” Ellis said.

“We believe there’s no better place for the NFL Draft than Denver. Alongside Visit Denver and the Denver Sports Commission, we’ll take a close look at the feedback we’ve received and do everything we can to make it happen soon.”

Soon could mean as little as two years, as 9News’ Mike Klis reports that Denver’s best hope for hosting an NFL Draft “appears to be 2021.”

Denver likely won’t be the spot to host the 2020 draft due to scheduling conflicts with downtown hotels.

Earlier this month, “Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley expressed frustration and disappointment with Denver’s then-underdog status regarding its host bid.

“Tell me a better setting than Red Rocks. I don’t get it. I was looking forward to it. I don’t understand,” Stokley said. “Once again, it just feels like Denver’s an overlooked sports town.”

Though several major U.S. cities have held the draft — Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Washington, D.C., among them — for a half century the event had been held in New York City.

In 2015, the draft moved to Chicago, then again in 2017 to Philadelphia. And last month, Dallas hosted it.

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.