In anticipation of 500,000-700,000 visitors to a city with a population of 310,000, it seemed there was no end to Pittsburgh’s preparations for the NFL Draft.
How’s Pittsburgh Looking One Month After the NFL Draft?
Electronic signs on 376 told drivers to avoid unnecessary travel. Pittsburgh Public Schools went remote, as did Allegheny County offices and Downtown-based corporations including Highmark and PNC. Parking garages upped their prices; public transit got a boost. A county-wide cleanup gathered 7.3 million pounds of debris across more than 40,800 volunteer hours. About 150 small businesses and local vendors partnered with the NFL, providing everything from food to fencing.
From the NFL’s claim of 800,000 attendees to reports of an empty city outside of the event footprint, looking back at the Draft can tell any story you want. A rousing success or a case of public-relations spin? A long-term opportunity for the city or a notable loss?
The bottom line, however, is that no one yet knows the bottom line.
“Independent analysis will provide a clear picture of the impact, expected in the coming months,” says Jerad Bachar, President and CEO of VisitPITTSBURGH, the tourism-centered organization that led the city’s Draft efforts. “Attendee event feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Visitors consistently highlighted the city’s energy, accessibility and hospitality.”
Did Locals Get What Was Promised?
With life more or less back to normal, TABLE will check in with local businesses, artists and civic leaders about the promises of the Draft and its aftermath. We plan to continue across the year.
“This event was about more than a single weekend,” Bachar says. “It was an investment in Pittsburgh’s long-term visibility, tourism growth and economic momentum.”
According to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, its Vibrancy Initiative projects included filling 53 vacant commercial spaces with retail business and art installations; the projects also involved 56 enhancements, such as sidewalk repairs and increased lighting in public spaces.
“The Draft provided a great opportunity to showcase everything our region has to offer on a national and international stage,” County Executive Sara Innamorato said during her quarterly address to County Council on April 28. “It also gave us a deadline to do some really big permanent projects for the people who call Pittsburgh home.”
NFL Draft Expansions That Lift Pittsburgh Up
Those projects included the $15 million renovation of Market Square and the creation of Arts Landing, a $31 million, four-acre civic space.
Arts Landing — billed as a once-in-a-generation change to the landscape of Downtown Pittsburgh — boasts a stage on a one-acre great lawn, a garden walk and pickleball courts. It also includes Downtown’s first playground as well as a visitor’s center with public restrooms.
Derek Scalzott, Senior Director of Strategic Communications for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, said the idea for Arts Landing took off in early 2024; a soft opening was held on April 17. (The grand opening will take place with June’s Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival.) “The 22 months between concept and ribbon cutting is really remarkable,” said Scalzott. “A project of this scope would normally take about four years.”
Businesses Left Underwhelmed
While pre-Draft hype seemed like the entire city would benefit, not everyone went all-in. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years,” says Square Cafe owner Sherree Goldstein. “We knew all the activities were [going to take place] in the North Side and Downtown.”
The popular East Liberty breakfast spot — about four and a half miles from the outermost edge of the Draft footprint — saw a small bump from hotel traffic, but, Goldstein says, “it wasn’t out of the ordinary. We are always ready for high volume.”
Businesses closer to the event space relied on a different kind of experience. Jacqueline Schoedel, owner of the Speckled Egg, said she reached out to restaurant owners in Green Bay, host of the 2025 Draft, to figure out what to expect. One told her to expect to be as busy as a typical Saturday and Sunday all week long — for any restaurant within a mile of the event footprint.
Schoedel heeded the advice and doubled the order between her Downtown and South Side locations. “I’m talking, like, 10 cases of potatoes for each location, 35 cases of eggs for one location and then 15 at the other,” Schoedel said. “That’s a lot of eggs.”
At the End of the Day… It’s a One-Time Event
Schoedel was also selected to participate in Taste of the Draft on the first night of the event. She and her husband brought 750 sample-sized versions of the Speckled Egg’s fried chicken biscuit.
In the end, her restaurant sales weren’t nearly as high as her compatriots in Green Bay predicted; in fact, they looked like a normal week.
“The NFL came like a circus. They had everything you needed once you got to the Draft campus,” she said. “In the South Side, it was like the Draft didn’t exist at all.”
The upside to over-preparing, she said, was being ready for the following weekend: the Pittsburgh Marathon, a home game for the Pirates and The University of Pittsburgh’s graduation festivities.
“It was the most amazing thing,” Schoedel said. “I was like, ‘This is how Pittsburgh does big events.’”
Story by Amy Whipple
Photo by Sean Collier
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