Glitzier combine could help NFL make decision on host city

Here are your Fox News Flash top headlines for February 28

This week's stodgy, old NFL scouting combine is going Hollywood.

The sound of silence will be replaced by music as players work out inside. Results and interviews will appear on Lucas Oil Stadium's video boards and fans will be encouraged to cheer.

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Whether all these changes signal a dramatically different future for the league's second-biggest offseason event remains unclear.

But after a one-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, draft prospects, scouts, coaches and team officials are eagerly returning to Indianapolis one more time — perhaps the final time.

"I think the owners of clubs would love to bring a tent-pole event to their town from a fan standpoint, from an economic standpoint," said Jeff Foster, president of National Football Scouting, which runs the combine. "When they moved the draft to different cities and it took off, I think that's what sparked the interest and that's why we started looking at it."

The moving debate has raged for years, though this time seems different.

There's an expiring contract, the league's well-known desire to move big events around the nation, and three cities — Dallas, Indianapolis and Los Angeles — vying to host the event in 2023 and 2024. Final bids are due in early April and Foster anticipates an announcement in late May.

But team executives have long thought Indy was the perfect spot. The city has hosted every combine since its inception in 1987 for many reasons, including Indy's covered walkways, which allow players to attend workouts, medical exams and team interviews without needing a car or navigating traffic in an unfamiliar location. Plus, they can find