“Oh, they’re not going to like that.”

That’s what I’ve said a few times, when looking at the road closures and traffic pattern forecasts for the 2025 NFL Draft which will be here before you know it in about 50 days.

And I’m talking about some residents of Ashwaubenon that are speaking out against the inconveniences of hosting a world class event, despite the economic surge that it’s going to bring to the entire region.

We’re talking about full restaurants, hotels, consistently booked transportation services, and hopeful small business owners that will hopefully find the beginning of a prosperous 2025 after the crowds are long gone.

But everyone knows that the density and detours are going to be very real. We’re talking about closing Oneida and Lombardi, and Ridge and Lombardi, two important traffic arteries to those communities beyond Lambeau, and really to anyone that visits the Bay Park Square retail hub.

They’re going to need an army of security staff to deter illegal parking, but even that isn’t going to stop every traffic and parking violator in the area.

This of course, is far from foreign to residents. After all, we host games here every year. But that’s just for one day. And depending on the weather and the start time, a visit to Lambeau can be contained to just an afternoon. This is a few days.

So, what’s the solution? Monetization.

While it might be too late to stand up any serious large scale operations to monetize the draft to those in Ashwaubenon, it’s certainly not too late to find a window to jump into with an existing operation.

If you’re going to be inconvenienced, you might as well get paid, Ashwaubenon.