NFL Draft’s impact on wider region appears uncertain
Although business and municipal leaders across western Pennsylvania are betting on a surge of revenue from the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, which is projected to bring over half a million visitors to the region, reality may not live up to expectations.
According to officials from regions surrounding previous host cities, much of the spending from draft attendees is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of the event venue.
Destination Ann Arbor Director of Media Relations Chad Wiebesick said the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, which was held about 40 miles east of the mid-size city, didn鈥檛 result in a major influx of visitor spending.
鈥淚n our case we anticipated some spillover, but our data didn鈥檛 show a substantial uptick in hotel performance,鈥� Wiebesick said. 鈥淎ny lift we saw was nominal.鈥�
According to Wiebesick, the main benefit of the nearby draft was the increased exposure and visibility for communities in the surrounding region, like Ann Arbor.
This means that visitors were more likely to consider the region as a future travel destination.
Wiebesick said the destination marketing nonprofit ran an ad campaign to raise the profile of the Ann Arbor area during the draft in hopes that the temporary national spotlight could lead to a long-term growth of tourism.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a major economic driver for cities outside of Detroit, so there were downsides and upsides to it,鈥� he said.
The 2023 draft in Kansas City was one of the largest events in Missouri history, generating over $150 million in total economic activity from an estimated 312,000 visitors over three days, according to a Sports Business Journal article.
For neighboring Shawnee, Kansas, the draft did not result in an uptick in tourist income, despite being less than 30 minutes away from the event venue along a major interstate.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 see much of an impact; there was no big spike,鈥� said Doug Donahoo, city director of communications.
Donahoo said the abundant hotel and Airbnb options within Kansas City may have limited the amount of business left for hospitality in outlying towns.
In the Fox Cities region south of the 2025 NFL Draft host Green Bay, Wisc., football is big business.
鈥淔or Packers鈥� home games our hotels are filled up normally, so we鈥檙e a known quantity in that way, and we did have some visitors during the draft,鈥� said Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau Executive Director Pam Seidl.
The real value of the event was exposing thousands of new visitors to the region, she said.
Fans from the NFC North region already have plenty of exposure to the Fox Cities area, so having visitors from across the county in town for the draft was a 鈥済reat value,鈥� according to Seidl.
Seidl said many draft attendees who stayed in hotels outside of Green Bay checked in and immediately went to the city for the event, leaving little time to patronize local businesses.
鈥淭hey would often come back late at night after the draft, so we did some stuff with our partners to do munchies and stuff so we saw a little flurry of activity then,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey came to see the event, not sit in their hotel room 30 minutes away.鈥�
Seidl said the spending from draft tourists was concentrated in the area around Lambeau Field, so much that 鈥渋f you were downtown that day, you wouldn鈥檛 have even known a big event was going on; it was a little strange.鈥�
The local outlook is more optimistic.
Jeff Kotula, president of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Promotion Agency, told the newspaper earlier this month that hotels across northern Washington County were approaching 80% to full capacity ahead of the three-day event.
鈥淥ur aim is to position Washington County as a place to decompress, avoiding the traffic and crowds around the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh, and encouraging visitors to enjoy some of the excellent restaurants and attractions away from the chaos of downtown,鈥� Kotula previously told the newspaper.
VisitPITTSBURGH Senior Communications Manager Madeleine Buckley said that while the action of the 2026 NFL Draft will mainly take place in downtown Pittsburgh and the North Shore, the Pittsburgh Local Organizing Committee expects the surrounding areas to see impact, especially through hotel bookings.
If visitor spending trends from previous drafts hold, the greater Pittsburgh region could receive over $120 million in total economic impact.
鈥淲ith the free 鈥楩ootball Flyer鈥� park-and-ride shuttles and free 鈥淭鈥� light rail service offering affordable, convenient connections from the southern suburbs straight to and from the NFL Draft, visitors have the option to stay overnight outside of the city,鈥� Buckley said in a statement.
The official NFL Guide to Pittsburgh spotlights hundreds of businesses across the broader region, she said, which will help visitors connect with local dining, shopping and hospitality options.