GREEN BAY – The three campgrounds in Brown County were almost booked to full capacity. Out of the 245 campsites available during the draft, 93% were booked over the three days, said Matt Kriese, the county parks director.
About 30 to 40 people didn’t show up who had booked a site, he said, which wasn’t that many more cancellations than a weekend in a typical camping season.
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Brown County opened up its three campgrounds — Reforestation Camp, Brown County Fairgrounds and Bay Shore Park — for the draft ahead of the typical season and raised prices to $100 a night during the draft, up $48 to $76 than its typical rates. Most of the sites were filled up by February.
The Fairgrounds wasn’t much busier, Kriese said, but the other two campgrounds had more visits than a typical weekend. Things ran smoothly, with people being more welcoming to each other and open to neighbors than usual during camping season.
“It was a really (welcoming) event. People started showing up on that Wednesday,” Kriese said. “They were outside tailgating and a camping atmosphere with their neighbors.”
Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport also saw the impacts of the draft, creating a new record for air traffic.
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The airport extended air traffic control hours and added at least seven nonstop flights in anticipation of the draft.
It paid off — the airport had one of its busiest weeks in its history and over 150 volunteers signed up to help and greet travelers, airport director Marty Piette said in a Facebook post April 28.
More: 6 post-NFL draft takeaways from Ashwaubenon, Brown County, Green Bay, tourism officials
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Green Bay airport, campgrounds get boost in bookings for NFL draft
