Cardinals should put in bid to host future NFL Scouting Combine

Starting in 2023, the Arizona Cardinals could host the annual NFL Scouting Combine in their home stadium.

On Wednesday, the NFL said they would start putting out the process for cities to bid to host the scouting combine. The Arizona Cardinals should be one of those teams.

The combine has been held in Indianapolis each year since 1987. The move by the NFL makes sense.

After years in Honolulu, the NFL started to have the Pro Bowl played at other sites such as Florida and Arizona. The NFL Draft followed suit and is now held in a different city every year.

When might the NFL Scouting Combine take place in the Arizona Cardinals home stadium?

Arizona putting in a bid makes great sense. With the combine held in February every year, that is prime weather in the Valley of the Sun.

The NFL wants to have new sites in a rotation starting in 2023. How soon before the Cardinals put in a bid though is another question.

State Farm Stadium in Glendale is slated to host the Super Bowl 57 on February 12, 2023, following the 2022 NFL season. It is likely the NFL would look to have other cities in the mix early on.

Certainly, Arizona will put in future bids for the Super Bowl as well. With the draft traditionally at the end of April, this would be a good spot to host the draft as well. Las Vegas is scheduled to host the draft in 2022.

It will be interesting to see if a bid is put in to host the combine in Arizona. Maybe look to 2025 and beyond? State Farm Stadium is also scheduled to host the NCAA Final Four in April 2024, which could be too close to Combine time to prepare the facility.

There has been no word on any interest as of yet from any city. This is also an event that doesn’t necessarily have to be weather-driven either, as evidenced by the cold weather in Indianapolis. Somewhere with an indoor presence would likely be most considered given the time of year though.