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Stephen Holder, ESPNNov 14, 2024, 08:19 AM ET
- Stephen joined ESPN in 2022, covering the Indianapolis Colts and NFL at large. Stephen finished first place in column writing in the 2015 Indiana Associated Press Media Editors competition, and he is a previous top-10 winner in explanatory journalism in the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest. He has chronicled the NFL since 2005, covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2005-2013 and the Colts since 2013. He has previously worked for the Miami Herald, Tampa Bay Times, Indianapolis Star and The Athletic.
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL scouting combine will remain in Indianapolis for at least two more years under an agreement announced Thursday.
Indianapolis tourism officials announced a deal with the NFL to host the league’s flagship pre-draft event through 2026, superseding a previous agreement that ended with the 2025 combine.
The combine has been held in Indianapolis since 1987. Since those early days, when the combine played out with little fanfare, it has evolved into a major event on the NFL calendar. The combine now features hours of live television coverage, and in recent years, fans have been permitted to attend to watch on-field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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More than 27,000 fans attended the 2024 combine, according to Visit Indy, which helped broker the deal.
More than 300 NFL prospects annually descend on the city along with large delegations from every NFL team and thousands of media members. Team officials, in particular, have been vocal about keeping the combine in Indianapolis given the proximity of medical facilities for prospect exams and the stadium to key downtown hotels.
“Indianapolis is uniquely designed and built to host an event as complex as the NFL Combine,” Pete Ward, chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Colts, said in a statement. “Efficiently moving prospects, team owners, coaching staff, medical personnel, and national media is seamlessly done in Indy, and the Colts are proud to be part of the team keeping the event in our city.”
