Texans fans were in Cleveland last year for the draft but will have a local option this year.

The Texans will host an NFL draft watch party at the Miller Outdoor Theatre on April 28. The event is family-friendly, free to the public and will include fan activities on the base of the hillside. The stage will also be outfitted with LED screens that will connect live in video calls with general manager Nick Caserio, head coach Lovie Smith and the rookies the franchise selects.

“It’s right in the heart of Houston,” Texans president Greg Grissom said. “Hermann Park, the Houston Zoo — everything that’s around this venue, we wanted to embrace that and work with our partners in Houston first. They were all in with us, and so we’re just excited to be here in a unique, iconic venue to celebrate this with Houston.”

The Texans normally hold a draft party at NRG Stadium, but Grissom said they wanted “to create some new excitement” around a draft in which the franchise wields two first-round picks that could land foundational players to their rebuild. Houston holds the No. 3 and No. 13 picks in the draft, which will be held in Las Vegas. 

“There’s great interest with Nick and Lovie and what they’re building on the football side,” Grissom said. “We just want to make sure our fans get to know these new players, that we’re all welcoming them here to Houston and they know what a great city it is that they’re joining.”

There will be limited seating available for season-ticket holders and other club members, and fans can also purchase seating. Free parking will be available in parking lots around Hermann Park, and the Texans are encouraging people to utilize ridesharing services or the METRORail, which has a stop at the theatre.

Brooks Kubena, a Houston native, joined the Chronicle in 2021 to cover the Texans and the NFL after reporting on LSU football for The Advocate | Times-Picayune in Baton Rouge for three years. Kubena contributed to the AP Top 25 poll and held a Heisman Trophy vote. A graduate of the University of Texas and Clear Lake High School, he's too young to remember the Oilers but old enough to remember a parking lot was once AstroWorld.