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Steelers Nation can take some credit for bringing the league’s largest offseason event to Pittsburgh.
And for the NFL Draft next year, they’ll be taking over Point State Park, the anticipated venue of a free fan festival known as the NFL Draft Experience, documents show.
Cities compete to host the draft, and the NFL generally looks for a few traits in potential host cities: a rich football history, great fandom, and a location that can’t host a Super Bowl, said Nicki Ewell, senior director of events for the NFL.
“There's fans of the black and yellow all over the country and the world,” Ewell said. “They have really deep roots, and so we want to reward cities that we know are rich in football history.”
Pittsburgh in particular has some of the highest fan engagement in the league, Ewell said. A strong public and private partnership with the ability to fundraise the needed money to host the draft solidified the bid.
While the NFL has a playbook for the draft, it's customized for each city, Ewell said.
The NFL is looking at using the rivers to make it a uniquely Pittsburgh draft, but the specifics have yet to be confirmed.
"It has to be unique to the city. That's what makes it very challenging but also makes it very unique,” she said.
Incorporating iconic Pittsburgh sites, such as Point State Park and the North Shore, is one way to do that — but the NFL won’t be paying a lofty price for the venues where an estimated half a million or more attendees will attend the draft from April 23-25 next year. In fact, the NFL won’t be paying at all.
Pennsylvania will provide the park for free to the NFL, according to a signed letter of commitment provided by the Bureau of State Parks to Next Generation Newsroom.
It’s a trend across the potential draft venues: two locations on the North Shore, a stretch of the riverfront and parking lots near Acrisure Stadium, are being given to the NFL rent-free, according to two letters of commitment obtained by Next Generation Newsroom through Right-to-Know requests. All three letters of commitment were signed in February 2024.
The main stage location where draft picks are announced will be outside Acrisure Stadium, Ewell said.
On the Downtown side, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will work to draft an agreement with the local organizing committee to use Point State Park if the NFL confirms the park as the Draft Experience venue, according to the Bureau of State Parks.
“Over the next year, there will be coordination between the NFL and local partners, including VisitPittsburgh and the Local Organizing Committee, as event details like site location and activities get planned,” said Cecelia Cagni, director of corporate communications for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “As an organization, we continue to be excited for the 2026 NFL Draft and know many sports fans are as well.”
DCNR would then invoice the local organizing committee for any fees associated with park use, the bureau said. It’s not the only expense the local organizing committee could be footing the bill for.
Throughout the letters of commitment, the NFL asks for control over a range of details and for waived fees, including not being charged for utilities and “no revenue sharing, ticket fees or other forms of fees or charges paid to the venue.”
If rental fees are charged by any of the venues, those must be paid by the local organizing committee, which has an $11 million fund to host the draft.
While local businesses aim to get a piece of profit through the NFL’s Source program, the NFL will call the shots on who is working the venues.
The NFL will curate a list of restaurants to serve food and beverages at Point State Park, and those businesses will keep all of the revenue from sales, Ewell said.
In Detroit, which hosted the 2024 draft, vendors earned over $1 million, Ewell said.
But aside from food and beverage, the NFL doesn’t have vendors selling anything other than its own merchandise operator, currently Legends Global Merchandise, and doesn’t allow booths for non-NFL partners.
“It's not like a street fair or a festival in that way, but we're also hosting an event that's completely free for the entire community,” Ewell said. “Even if you're a member of the Source [program], but you don't get a contract, there's still impact to your city and to your business, potentially."
Across all three venues, the NFL will select concessionaires, caterers, and security, according to the letters of commitment.
With much of the revenue from the event retained by the NFL, local officials hope to see money roll in elsewhere: The draft is expected to bring between $120 million and $213 million in economic impact, based on prior draft numbers.
It also showcases Pittsburgh’s ability to host a large-scale event, Ewell said. Gov. Josh Shapiro expects the draft to be the largest event Pittsburgh has ever seen.
“Even if you're not a fan of the NFL, you're not a fan of sports, you're not a fan of the Steelers, there's still something for you to do and see and just be part of the community, which I think is the really powerful thing about the draft,” Ewell said.
