Pittsburgh awarded 2026 NFL Draft

[slashsteel]

I don't care, I'm not gonna be out on the road sans a decent hotel room. Party on. Bring on the 700,000 fans.

We will try to move on without you, it will be rough but we’ll fight through it.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

Idk if it's considered too far away, but the area from the stadium to point Park would be great imo. Lots of areas, and so much room for activities! (Step brothers). I can picture one of those big pavilions like they used in Detroit, on the point. Fountain going and all.

All good until the bunk beds break and Will Ferrell gets a scrape.

 

[Troglodyte]

Here is an article in the topic

https://www.wtae.com/article/pittsburgh-nfl-draft-north-shore-downtown-cultural-district/60608928

So they aren’t expecting the 700,000 Detroit had, more like 200,000 to 300,000. I guess they go by hotel availability?

 

[slashsteel]

So they aren’t expecting the 700,000 Detroit had, more like 200,000 to 300,000. I guess they go by hotel availability?

I think that is what they are guesstimating based off that yes. I think they will find it will be double that when it is all said and done.

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

Wonder why the NFL cares about the number of people attending the draft, when they didn't have a team in LA for years. I don't think they care about the number of attendees.. only that it's successful and fun time held by all.

 

[Troglodyte]

I think that is what they are guesstimating based off that yes. I think they will find it will be double that when it is all said and done.

My other thought is “where’s everyone going to park?”

 

[madinsomniac]

I know the area. Tomato, tomautow, it still comes down to how many hotel rooms are in the area, regardless of what city limits are.

Jacksonville is the perfect example of a large "city limit" with it possessing more land mass than ANY US city. But come Super Bowl, it didn't matter, fans were staying in cities as far away as Orlando (1.5 hour away). And Pgh's surrounding "municipalities" hardly have any hotels. Have you been to New Castle or Butler lately? Almost zero hotel rooms. Even Erie (2.5 hours away) barely has any.

I stay in the surrounding municipalities and commuter areas all the time. You are badly mistaken. I spend 40 weeks a year in hotels... lol I know hotels... the last time this area had a real hotel crisis, there was a major event downtown in the convention a preseason game and a downtown concert was happening simultaneously with tgree major music festivals in east ohio northern west virginia, and northeast of the city...it eradicated every hotel in a three hour radius... i had to commute an hour and a half to the plant all week lol

They have added a ton of hotels since then ... it will be fine

 

[Greg Lloyd]

I stay in the surrounding municipalities and commuter areas all the time. You are badly mistaken. I spend 40 weeks a year in hotels... lol I know hotels... the last time this area had a real hotel crisis, there was a major event downtown in the convention a preseason game and a downtown concert was happening simultaneously with tgree major music festivals in east ohio northern west virginia, and northeast of the city...it eradicated every hotel in a three hour radius... i had to commute an hour and a half to the plant all week lol

They have added a ton of hotels since then ... it will be fine

The condition you described did NOT bring in 700,000 people. Not even close.

 

[madinsomniac]

So they aren’t expecting the 700,000 Detroit had, more like 200,000 to 300,000. I guess they go by hotel availability?

Detroit probably has less hotel rooms tgan pittsburgh does... we used to do the zug island plant out there...

Pittsburgh ad allegheny county has like 20,000 rooms tgese days... huge tourist citys double that up... but they dont have hundred of thousands of rooms... thats bullshit

 

[madinsomniac]

The condition you described did NOT bring in 700,000 people. Not even close.

Nobody has 700,000 hotel rooms...

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

My other thought is “where’s everyone going to park?”

The Mon wharf of course.

 

[madinsomniac]

New york city has like 125,000 rooms unless things have drastically changed since this argument last time... the surrounding areas might double that, but tgey are usually also filled because of non event reasons... 700k fans are probably suburban fans showing up for tge festivities... not true out of towners

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

Nobody has 700,000 hotel rooms...

And no man can eat 50 eggs

 

[slashsteel]

My other thought is “where’s everyone going to park?”

Your guess is good as mine, probably here,there,everywhere.

 

[Troglodyte]

Detroit probably has less hotel rooms tgan pittsburgh does... we used to do the zug island plant out there...

Pittsburgh ad allegheny county has like 20,000 rooms tgese days... huge tourist citys double that up... but they dont have hundred of thousands of rooms... thats bullshit

So they’re assuming mostly local people, then, yeah, where’s everyone going to park?

And it would seem the economic benefit would be overhyped as it will be mostly local people spending money they spend locally anyway.

 

[Ike Kelly]

Well in the "where there is a will there is a way"comment, if you mean a pick up truck with a keg, you're right there. Been there done that. But as far as enough hotel rooms in the Pgh area, not so sure, nor do I think capacity will change all that much by the draft in 2026. I tried to look up capacity of Pgh v. Nashville but couldn't find anything. But I'm gonna take a guess that Pgh lags behind in lodging big time.

And as far as hotels outside Pgh, well, not all that much to choose from. New Castle has almost zero hotels. Wexford is practically Pgh. Butler? Hardly anything. Erie is 2.5 hours away and there is barely anything there anyhow. 700,000 fans? I don't know where they are gonna stay.

When was the last time you were in the Burgh? You've probably never been to Pittsburgh and don’t know what you are talking about. I went to the draft in Nashville. It was fantastic because they basically shut down 10 square blocks to motorized traffic. Stage was across the river from the stadium and all the festivities were surrounding Broadway. I know for a fact that a good percentage of those who attended the draft drove from Franklin, Murfreesboro, Lebanon and Smyrna and then took shuttles to Broadway from parking areas well outside the loop. Hell, there were tons of folks driving from Knoxville, Chattanooga and met a dozen Falcon fans from Atlanta (Marietta and Kennesaw).

Pittsburgh has the same setup. They will block off those main areas to foot traffic only. There was discussion about using a Clipper fleet have a river bridge from Point Park to the stadium, which sounds interesting. There are plenty of locations outside the loop people will drive from. 376 has a ton of hotels from I76/376 through Monroeville all the way though and past downtown up to Robinson and Pitt Int’l. There are places on 79 less than a hour away leading to downtown. Having everything in close proximity to the Northshore, Pointpark and the downtown areas will be the same as it was in Nashville. Spent some $$ on Ubers there, so no doubt all the folks staying at AirBnbs and hotels without shuttles will have those available too. You talk about Newcastle? There are several hotels surrounding the area. There a bunch of hotels closer in Cranberry. You don’t know what the heck you are talking about in regards to what kind of capacity the area can accommodate. One of PIT’s largest city revenue streams is tourism and that’s withOUT a huge event headlining.

 

[Badcat]

So they’re assuming mostly local people, then, yeah, where’s everyone going to park?

And it would seem the economic benefit would be overhyped as it will be mostly local people spending money they spend locally anyway.

Buffalo, DC, Cleveland, Cincinati, Philly, Baltimore and Detroit are all within 250 miles of Pittsburgh. The bus transit system and train can shuttle people in from all neighborhoods and surrounding towns like Cranberry, Wexford, Greensburg and so on so those hotels can also be utilized. AirB&B are in play as well.

Pittsburgh is going to be LIT!

 

[ZonaBurgh]

When the traffic come to a complete stop, turn off the engine and walk. Easy.

 

[madinsomniac]

So they’re assuming mostly local people, then, yeah, where’s everyone going to park?

And it would seem the economic benefit would be overhyped as it will be mostly local people spending money they spend locally anyway.

Oh i am absolutely opposed to Pittsburgh ever having anything... not because of parking but just cause traffic always gets really bitchy on regular days ....
but theoretically they can host it

 

[SteelerFan448]

MUCH smaller. Pgh ain't no Nashville. Not even close. Nashville is set up to party hardy 24/7 - tons of hotel rooms, bars, etc. Pgh ain't no Nashville, trust me.

Yeah, I know Pittsburgh isn't the bachelorette party capital of the world, but it's a good spot to host the draft. It'll be a fun event.

 

[slashsteel]

We can house 4 people upstairs in 2 rooms, 1 person sofa it, and can put up an air mattress downstairs in the basement capable of 1 to 2 people.

My mom tends to think nobody would take on the basement if visiting she told me that when she visited anywho it is free lodging if anyone wants to crash.

No restrictions other than no smoking indoors.

I am actually thinking of getting something close to the stadium for three days. As this will be the only time I get to experience this so I should do something that I don’t have to drive back n forth even though it isn’t that far away. Still not having to drive and being right there in the smack of the event sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

When was the last time you were in the Burgh? You've probably never been to Pittsburgh and don’t know what you are talking about. I went to the draft in Nashville. It was fantastic because they basically shut down 10 square blocks to motorized traffic. Stage was across the river from the stadium and all the festivities were surrounding Broadway. I know for a fact that a good percentage of those who attended the draft drove from Franklin, Murfreesboro, Lebanon and Smyrna and then took shuttles to Broadway from parking areas well outside the loop. Hell, there were tons of folks driving from Knoxville, Chattanooga and met a dozen Falcon fans from Atlanta (Marietta and Kennesaw).

Pittsburgh has the same setup. They will block off those main areas to foot traffic only. There was discussion about using a Clipper fleet have a river bridge from Point Park to the stadium, which sounds interesting. There are plenty of locations outside the loop people will drive from. 376 has a ton of hotels from I76/376 through Monroeville all the way though and past downtown up to Robinson and Pitt Int’l. There are places on 79 less than a hour away leading to downtown. Having everything in close proximity to the Northshore, Pointpark and the downtown areas will be the same as it was in Nashville. Spent some $$ on Ubers there, so no doubt all the folks staying at AirBnbs and hotels without shuttles will have those available too. You talk about Newcastle? There are several hotels surrounding the area. There a bunch of hotels closer in Cranberry. You don’t know what the heck you are talking about in regards to what kind of capacity the area can accommodate. One of PIT’s largest city revenue streams is tourism and that’s withOUT a huge event headlining.

Im sure the park and ride facilities around the airport would welcome the business.

 

[tapeANaspirin2it]

I agree with Slash (I think). The stage will be near the stadium with the crowd on the road from PNC Park to Heinz Field. A smaller version of Nashville's setup, but awesome for the bars and restaurants along that stretch if that's indeed the location. I don't think Pittsburgh will match Detroit's numbers, but I also think those were inflated...

There were over 400,000 visitors in Pittsburgh for the Taylor Swift concert weekend (not sure if that was unique visitors or around 200,000 total each night). Either way, I think this event will surpass those numbers. It will be a cool event for the city and I may go down on Saturday because I enjoy following the draft on SN and the TV coverage of the first two days too much.

Those Detroit numbers were absolutely inflated.

 

[madinsomniac]

Buffalo, DC, Cleveland, Cincinati, Philly, Baltimore and Detroit are all within 250 miles of Pittsburgh. The bus transit system and train can shuttle people in from all neighborhoods and surrounding towns like Cranberry, Wexford, Greensburg and so on so those hotels can also be utilized. AirB&B are in play as well.

Pittsburgh is going to be LIT!

Yep the amount of smaller but significant metro areas within commuter distance of downtown pittsburgh is insane... youngstown, wheeling, tons within an hour... and way more in that 1.5 to 2 hr group

 

[Greg Lloyd]

When was the last time you were in the Burgh? You've probably never been to Pittsburgh and don’t know what you are talking about. I went to the draft in Nashville. It was fantastic because they basically shut down 10 square blocks to motorized traffic. Stage was across the river from the stadium and all the festivities were surrounding Broadway. I know for a fact that a good percentage of those who attended the draft drove from Franklin, Murfreesboro, Lebanon and Smyrna and then took shuttles to Broadway from parking areas well outside the loop. Hell, there were tons of folks driving from Knoxville, Chattanooga and met a dozen Falcon fans from Atlanta (Marietta and Kennesaw).

Pittsburgh has the same setup. They will block off those main areas to foot traffic only. There was discussion about using a Clipper fleet have a river bridge from Point Park to the stadium, which sounds interesting. There are plenty of locations outside the loop people will drive from. 376 has a ton of hotels from I76/376 through Monroeville all the way though and past downtown up to Robinson and Pitt Int’l. There are places on 79 less than a hour away leading to downtown. Having everything in close proximity to the Northshore, Pointpark and the downtown areas will be the same as it was in Nashville. Spent some $$ on Ubers there, so no doubt all the folks staying at AirBnbs and hotels without shuttles will have those available too. You talk about Newcastle? There are several hotels surrounding the area. There a bunch of hotels closer in Cranberry. You don’t know what the heck you are talking about in regards to what kind of capacity the area can accommodate. One of PIT’s largest city revenue streams is tourism and that’s withOUT a huge event headlining.

Great, so Pgh can handle 700,000 extra people all of a sudden? Good to know.