ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WFRV) – Oneida Street will shut down for 6-7 weeks in late March ahead of the NFL Draft to allow for construction of the draft stage, according to Ashwaubenon Public Safety. The village website says the closure will stretch from Lombardi Avenue to Stadium Drive.
“We’ve got a couple of longer-term closures that I know are out there. Oneida St. is probably the biggest one,” Ashwaubenon Public Safety Chief Deputy Nick Kozloski said. “Oneida St. will be closed for roughly 6-7 weeks starting toward the end of March. And that’s basically to build up the draft stage, it’s a very large structure that will take weeks to assemble and about a week to disassemble.”
Other streets will also close early to allow for set up, but no closures will be as lengthy as the one overtaking Oneida St.
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“Parts of Lombardi will be closed longer term, not quite as long as Oneida St. Ridge Rd. will also be impacted probably a week or so prior to the event,” Kozloski said. “We’re going to really rely on using multiple different angles, from the north to the west to the south, more than likely utilizing 41 and Ashland, and then using Ashland to actually get up to the stadium area. That’ll be a big part of it, Oneida St. will also be another one, Lombardi Ave. So those three will for sure will be utilized to get people in and then also to get people out.”
The sections of roadway that will be closed at least at some point during the draft include Oneida St., Armed Forces Way, Lombardi Ave., Ridge Rd., Holmgren Way, Mike McCarthy Way, and Brett Favre/Tony Canadeo Run.
Kozloski says the New Orleans terrorist attack on Jan. 1 that killed 14 did not directly change their security planning, as meridian barriers are already used on game days. The effort to plan the layout for the draft is a joint one between law enforcement, other emergency responders, the NFL, and WisDOT, according to Kozloski.
“We’re all working on what we need to work on and collaborating for us to make this a successful event for the entire area,” he said. “We’re working through right now, is obviously the footprint, what that looks like. We’re getting close to a point where we’re going to have that figured out.”
Despite the eight-plus home games that are played in Titletown each year, there are only a limited amount of similarities between that setup and that of the draft.
“We’ve actually been involved quite a bit with traffic and planning what routes will be coming in, what routes will be going out, where we’re going to put buses, things like that,” Kozloski said. “We are looking at traffic patterns, obviously we’re going to have a lot of road closures in the area so we’re going to be a little limited. It’s not going to look like a normal game day.”
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There are no details to be shared at this point regarding buses, shuttles, parking, taxis, and ridesharing. Kozloski says to expect more after Sunday’s Super Bowl and a site visit the NFL has planned to Titletown for early March.
He does have a piece of advice, though.
“Be patient, and if you’re not going to the event or going to participate, I would find additional routes around the area,” he said. “Parking is going to be an issue, we’re working on possible satellite lots and shuttle buses coming in and out.”