{"id":118993,"date":"2026-02-20T11:45:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/118993\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T11:45:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T11:45:15","slug":"pre-nfl-draft-the-rush-is-on-to-fill-pittsburghs-empty-stores","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/118993\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-NFL Draft, the rush is on to fill Pittsburgh’s empty stores"},"content":{"rendered":"

Downtown Pittsburgh\u2019s Golden Triangle has nearly 50 empty storefronts<\/a> \u2013 just as the NFL Draft<\/a> is set to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors<\/a>. A local nonprofit is racing to fill dozens of those spaces before April.<\/p>\n

The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is always working to fill vacant retail spaces, but the draft brings more urgency to those efforts, said Cate Irvin, senior director of economic development. The group revived a \u201cpop-up\u201d program in which businesses access retail space \u2013 pending an agreement from the property owner – for six to 12 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis gives businesses a chance to test the waters and see if they want to commit to a longer-term lease. We’re looking specifically at a kind of retail classification, and within that is included restaurant retail, traditional retail and services like salons,\u201d Irvin said. \u201cWe do have a requirement now for our pop-ups that they all need to be up and running by April.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rush is on to find tenants before NFL Draft<\/p>\n

Irvin said the partnership hopes to fill 20 to 30 retail storefronts in time for the draft, which is scheduled for April 23-25. It is expected to generate $120 million to $213 million in economic impact, based on prior draft numbers.<\/a> The main stage will be located outside of Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore<\/a>. Other events will be spread throughout the North Shore and at Point State Park.<\/p>\n

VisitPittsburgh, the tourism agency leading draft preparation, estimates a crowd of 500,000 to 700,000 fans.<\/p>\n

Last December<\/a>, planning officials with the NFL visited the region<\/a> and gathered local businesses to meet with subcontractors, in hopes of securing a contract to become an official vendor for the draft. These businesses underwent months of NFL-led training to be a part of the NFL Draft Source Program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are about 100 active businesses in the program that were selected out of several hundred applicants, Draft Source lead Myisha Boyce said.<\/p>\n

NFL Senior Director of Club Leadership, Development and Inclusion Belynda Gardner said in December that officials will be back a \u201ccouple of more times\u201d leading up to the main event.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur focus will really be to make sure that everyone is aware of the plans for draft, the things that might be impeding the community as well as really just making sure that the businesses have what they need to be able to be successful,\u201d Gardner said.<\/p>\n

Filling empty spaces\"For<\/p>\n

For sale and rent signs fill an empty storefront in downtown Pittsburgh. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is working to fill spaces like these ahead of the NFL Draft in April.<\/p>\n

One of those pop-ups opened in December<\/a>: Confleurtti,<\/a> a flower shop just outside Market Square.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last [Downtown floral shop] closed in 2021 … so when they applied for Project Pop-Up, it was fantastic,\u201d Irvin said. \u201cWe’re not looking to just put businesses in that’ll do well for three days. We want businesses that’ll do well for three to 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Confleurtti owner Ashleigh Nixon opened her business in 2020, hosting pop-up floral arrangement classes. When she heard the draft was coming to town, she said it was a good opportunity to try opening a physical store.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have [the store] for six months, which will go to the very first day in June, but it’s still an opportunity to do all I can,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cIf it is successful, then I could extend the lease at market rate … there’s been some deals and discounts available to me that have been very needed and helpful that may have not been there [before the draft announcement].\u201d<\/p>\n

While Nixon is not an official NFL vendor, she plans to prepare Steelers- and Pittsburgh-related floral arrangements for the big event in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might do some team leis for parents and families and maybe even players to wear,\u201d Nixon said. \u201cI have something up my sleeve for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discounted rent offered for program\"An<\/p>\n

An art display outside a former retail store at the corner of Smithfield Street and Forbes Avenue. The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership is working to create more displays in other empty spaces throughout the Golden Triangle ahead of the NFL Draft in April.<\/p>\n

One way the partnership is working to keep businesses downtown after the draft is through a rent abatement program<\/a>, offering rent subsidies for the first year of the lease. In 2025, eight new businesses opened through the program, contributing to 19 new street-level retail openings. The rent abatement program offers half off the monthly rent, up to $2,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, we’ve actually had to close our applications until the third quarter of 2026 just because we had so many,\u201d Irvin said. \u201cCome spring, there\u2019ll be another wave of openings … which is perfect in time with the draft, giving visitors a chance to see what all we have to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the empty storefronts require construction to be retail-ready. For those, the partnership plans to install window displays featuring locally made art, Irvin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re working on curating some artistic window like vinyl wraps that can go on the sides of the building,\u201d Irvin said. \u201cIt kind of still creates a visual identity and sort of aesthetic, while highlighting local, emerging artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O\u2019Connor told the city to \u201credd up\u201d for the draft in January<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“We know Pittsburgh’s going to be in the international spotlight for the NFL Draft in April and that’s brought a lot of energy, collaboration and momentum to Downtown,\u2019 O\u2019Connor said in a statement to the Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom. \u201cMy administration is focused on the overall growth, including opportunities for our small businesses, so I say let’s make the best of that energy to support existing efforts \u2013 like the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s \u2013 to get local businesses into storefronts to build a vibrant Downtown not just for the draft, but for every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abigail Hakas contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

Erin Yudt is a reporter with the Pittsburgh Media Partnership Newsroom, part of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park University. She most recently was a multimedia content producer and digital reporter at WKBN in Youngstown and is a graduate of Point Park University. Reach her at erin.yudt@pointpark.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Abigail Hakas was a staff reporter for the newsroom until September 2025. She is now managing editor of the Latrobe Bulletin. Reach her at editor@latrobebulletinnews.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The PMP Newsroom is a regional news service that focuses on government and enterprise reporting in southwestern Pennsylvania. Find out more information on foundation and corporate funders at https:\/\/www.pghmediapartnership.org\/sponsors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: As the NFL Draft looms, efforts to fill empty downtown stores underway<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Downtown Pittsburgh\u2019s Golden Triangle has nearly 50 empty storefronts \u2013 just as the NFL Draft is set to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":118994,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[56420,4623,56421,12508,3537,73,75,74,56422],"class_list":["post-118993","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-cate-irvin","tag-downtown-pittsburgh","tag-empty-storefronts","tag-local-businesses","tag-nfl-draft","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-retail-storefronts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118993","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118993"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118993\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}