Preparations in Arlington are in full swing ahead of 2018 NFL Draft

ARLINGTON, Texas - It’s NFL Draft week and throngs of fans from across the country will be at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

As usual, everything is bigger in Texas and more than a quarter-million people are expected to attend between Thursday and Saturday.

This is the first time the draft will be at an NFL stadium. On Thursday, the NFL experience opens at noon and runs until 10 P.M at AT&T Stadium.

The draft will start at 7 at night inside the stadium, but activities for fans and player appearances will happen in the parking lot and on the grounds, kind of like a festival. The NFL made 60,000 tickets available for free for each day, but those have already been handed out.

There are still standby tickets fans can win by applying for them through the NFL Draft 2018 fan mobile pass app. Fans have a chance to win Super Bowl tickets and other prizes. There will be oversized helmets for each of the 32 teams for photo ops.

The event is expected to generate millions of dollars for the city of Arlington, but the price people will have to pay is dealing with traffic. Roads are already partially closed and barricades are up. Arlington police are also doing a lot of prep behind the scenes, working for months on a safety strategy plan.

"There will be covert resources, meaning like technology items and stuff that fans probably won't even notice. Undercover officers, undercover federal partners. And then you'll have a lot of high visibility. A lot of police vehicles. A lot of officers in uniform," said Police Lt. Chris Cook.

The Draft Red Carpet and the first round is on Thursday. Rounds two and three are Friday, and rounds four through seven are Saturday.

You can watch the entire first three rounds of the NFL Draft from AT&T Stadium on FOX 4. We will also be bringing extensive coverage of the events surrounding it on air and online.