Pittsburgh Already Promoting 2026 NFL Draft

NEW ORLEANS — Amongst the faux brick façade promoting this spring’s NFL Draft in Green Bay, the tech-focused booth showcasing the host of next year’s Super Bowl and the folks in New Orleans promoting its 11^th Super Bowl hosting before the Philadelphia Eagles’ win was a multi-colored booth making sure people knew just how far out the NFL has planned one of its marquee events.

With planning in high gear for the draft in Green Bay, its successor as host in 2026, Pittsburgh, was also in town to keep its turn on the NFL’s biggest offseason stage front of mind for the thousands of national and international media on hand.

“Within about a half hour or half day’s drive of Pittsburgh is 11 other NFL markets and there’s also 35 NCAA Division I schools,” said Jerad Bachar, president and chief executive officer of VisitPittsburgh. “So there is a huge football audience within a close proximity, so we are expecting that to really fuel the number of people that we’re going to host.”

The 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh will be held from April 23–25. The main portion of the event is expected to incorporate Pittsburgh’s North Shore and Point State Park, as well as Acrisure Stadium.

Throughout the three-day event, Pittsburgh will host a variety of draft activities, including the NFL Draft Experience fan festival. The event includes exhibits and games, autograph sessions and photos with the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

“The dates were certainly exciting to get, I think even more so for just the rest of the community around us,” said Brady Inners, director of sports event development at SportsPittsburgh. “There’s a lot of different construction updates that are happening throughout the city to be prepared for the draft and the influx of people when they come to town. So now that we have the dates, we can kind of work backwards and the planning process can really begin.”

The 2026 draft marks a full circle moment for the city and the Steelers, as the beginnings of what would become the first draft took place in 1936 at the Fort Pitt Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh will become the second AFC Central team to host the draft after Cleveland did so in 2021.

Inners said Pittsburgh’s organizers are already in constant communication with Green Bay and hearing about its plans for this spring’s draft from the viewpoint of transportation, fan logistics and leaning into the city’s football heritage.

“I think that’s one of the best things we do as a visitor’s bureau and destination marketing organization is anytime an event comes to town, we do put that Pittsburgh touch on it,” he said. “It’s going to be authentic.”

Bachar said “we’re expecting a sea of black and gold,” from local fans but also Steelers fans from outside of Pittsburgh given the team’s loyal following. There’s also the massive influx of visitors to the draft expected that brings an opportunity for the city to promote itself nationally and internationally.

“For us, it’s making sure that we get the branding right in market,” he said, “so when the NFL is airing the draft all around the world, that Pittsburgh is looking like the most perfect backdrop that you could possibly create. … what is the experience that (visitors are) going to have in market while they’re on the ground? We want to make sure that from the moment they land or the moment they drive into the city that they feel the NFL draft, that they’re getting the excitement. So it’s all about making sure that we design the city, bringing the right stakeholders together to make sure that we build the most exceptional draft experience that we can.”

Having the draft in Pittsburgh also gives VisitPittsburgh and SportsPittsburgh the chance to work closely on the planning with one of the NFL’s most respected ownership groups in the Rooney family.

“There is no doubt the only reason that the Pittsburgh is hosting the draft is with Art Rooney,” Bachar said. “The Rooneys are such an iconic family. You don’t necessarily know them until you have the chance to work with them as we have over the last few years. We work with their team, all the way through from their communications and marketing and their logistics team. To work directly with Art and his son Dan, we haven’t always had that opportunity. This has given us that opportunity and they’re phenomenal to work with. Art is the most gracious, collaborative team owner that we could ever imagine. Dan follows in those same footsteps. They’ve been fantastic to work with.”

While promoting the 2026 draft, Pittsburgh is also concentrating on this year’s major events including Oakmont Country Club hosting the U.S. Open. The David L. Lawrence Convention Center this month also hosted two major youth volleyball tournaments on consecutive weekends that were projected to bring in 24,000 athletes, coaches and families.

“Our youth grassroots events are stronger than ever,” Inners said. “Other business doesn’t stop. But the draft has a lot of people’s attention right now, that’s for sure.”