NEW YORK, March 3 (UPI) -- The National Football League announced Thursday that its 2005 draft will be conducted at the Javits Convention Center in New York City April 23-24.
The draft has been held in New York for 40 consecutive years.
The league decided not to renew its agreement with Madison Square Garden, the previous site, and move the draft to the Javits center, which occupies 22 acres on Manhattan's west side.
"We are thrilled that the National Football League has decided to keep the NFL Draft in New York City, where it belongs," Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said.
"New York City provides an unparalleled platform for increasing event attendance as well as worldwide attention to big events like the NFL Draft."
Philadelphia, the site of the first draft, in 1936, had also been considered for the 2005 draft.
