GREEN BAY, Wis. — Michael Mooney is preparing additional inventory ahead of the NFL Draft at LoCo Wisco in downtown Green Bay.
The store features Wisconsin-made goods.
“We’re expecting a lot of people,” Mooney said. “We’re expecting to see a lot of traffic downtown.”
A nearby bus shuttle between downtown parking and the Draft is expected to help the volume of traffic at the store he co-owns with his wife.
Mooney said part of his job in the coming week is serving as an ambassador to the city and the state.
He spent a few minutes Tuesday morning helping soon-to-be draft goers scout nearby parking and food options.
“We’re going to be directing people to a lot of different restaurants and things to do,” Mooney said. “It’ll be exciting. We’re always excited to see what the next question is going to be.”
Events are scheduled around the community throughout the week: from concerts to roundtable discussions and — of course — food.
Downtown Green Bay has a series of events scheduled around Draft hours and days. It includes a living Packers heritage trail, a 5k run, music festival and a booyah battle and kringle combine.
“We realize the main event happens three miles from here, but we know when people travel to a city, they’re going to check out other areas, so we want to make sure the downtown shines,” said Jen Metcalf, Downtown Green Bay’s assistant director. “We want to make sure people realize that there are authentic restaurants, really fun retail and recreation here in the downtown district.”
Green Bay proper is a city of about 105,000 people. That’s roughly the capacity of the stadium where the Ohio Buckeyes play.
“Ultimately, you want to feel that instant gratification of big crowds at our events,” Metcalf said. “But we also know there are bigger benefits, hoping that people come back for their summer vacation. Or, if they happen to be in town again, they make an effort to come spend more time in the downtown district.”
Mooney said his focus is on leaving a good impression of the city with visitors.
“I hope all the people will be able to say it was a great, clean, friendly, fun place to visit,” he said. “I hope they go back recommending other people to come check it out.”
A myriad of events are taking place throughout the area over the week of the Draft. Some of the Downtown Green Bay events can be found here.
