Muncie is getting ready for its time in the national sports spotlight in April, as the Indianapolis Colts will announce their sixth round Draft pick live from downtown’s Canan Commons.

Why Muncie?   The NFL says it’s celebrating the league’s “Original Towns” and Muncie was once the home of the Congerville Flyers.  Jim Waechter is the Executive Director of the Delaware County Historical Society.

“There was a team called the Muncie Flyers, and then they went through a name change, became the Congerville Flyers, and played a lot of local and regional games back in 1905 up through – into the early teens.  After the war, they got involved in the American Professional Football Association, which then later became the National Football League.”

On April 27, former Colts player Bill Brooks, two Colts cheerleaders, and a Verizon customer who wins a contest will announce who the Colts will choose.  The NFL says the sixth round is expected to take place between 3:00 PM and about 5:00 PM that afternoon.

(Provided by NFL and Downtown Muncie)

Downtown Muncie’s Cheryl Crowder says community festivities are being planned surrounding the announcement.

“We’ll have inflatable games for the kids, lawn games – the YMCA is putting together some of those activities.  We’ll have a photo booth, a meet-and-greet tent, they’ll be some food vendors available, DJ music.  Possibly some dance performances – as I said, we’re just now putting the event together.”

The city will be one of eight towns added to the usual 32 NFL markets that will be the site of a draft pick announcement.

The Ball State Daily contributed to this report.