INDIANAPOLIS — Ever since the NFL decided to take the draft out of its ancestral home at Radio City Music Hall in New York and turn it into a traveling show five years ago, the event has become a spectacle in cities that haven’t held it before.

First it was Chicago, then Philadelphia and Dallas, and this weekend Nashville has seen its crowded downtown splashed across ESPN and the NFL Network for three straight days.

Colts owner Jim Irsay has been watching, and he wants a piece of the action.

“Indy’s got to get the draft,” Irsay said. “We’ve got to get the draft, but to have that, we’ve got to have the hotels.”

The Colts organization is not responsible for making the pitch to the NFL to host the draft, although they would clearly support the effort; the city of Indianapolis and the Indiana Sports Corporation handle that pitch.

And the city has more than enough hotel space to host a major event. The NFL Combine is held in Indianapolis every year, the city hosted Super Bowl XLVI, and in the future, Indianapolis is hosting the NBA All-Star Game in February of 2021, the Final Four in April of 2021 and the College Football Playoff National Championship in 2022.

The problem, as Irsay sees it, is actually how attractive a destination Indianapolis has become for conventions and other big events. With so many events taking place in downtown, it can be difficult to find a weekend when there’s little competition. For example, the NRA convention is being held in Indianapolis this weekend.

“In talking to everyone in town, I can’t discourage the great work they do in making sure they book a ton of events and eat up a lot of our hotel space, but I think any time we have a new hotel go up downtown, it’s a win for the city, and for the state, and for the Colts and Pacers and everyone else,” Irsay said.

A 38-story, 800-room Hilton hotel, designed to host events and meetings, was announced in February.