This story is being updated.

As upwards of 200,000 Pittsburgh residents and visitors are expected to attend the 2026 NFL Draft tonight, the city is gearing up for “a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The Draft, which has come to Pittsburgh for the first time since 1948, begins tonight at 8 p.m. with the First Round. The event is set to span two major sections of downtown Pittsburgh — Point State Park and the North Shore — and attendees are traveling from one location to the other via lightrail, the Gateway Clipper Fleet ferry and the Roberto Clemente Bridge. 

Downtown

Three hours before the draft’s official start time, Downtown Pittsburgh is already packed with city natives and out-of-towners, representing teams from across the country — although many of them are Steelers fans, and many of them are Pitt students. 

Some visitors, like Hunter Bloy, woke up at 4:30 a.m. this morning to travel from his hometown of Freedom, WI. Bloy came to the draft to reconnect with old friends from “all over the country” after serving in the military.

“We don’t get to spend that much time together,” Bloy said. “We’ll have a little banter back and forth about the teams and the draft picks — we’re all different fans of different teams.”

Others commuted from Oakland, like Pitt juniors Daniel Howe and Gavin Sahdt, who took an Uber downtown for $10 total to attend the draft.

“We’re both big football fans, so it kind of made sense that we had to come down today,” Howe said. 

Julia Shellard, a junior communication science and disorders major, said she has watched the draft every year on TV with her dad which makes attending the draft today even better. Shellard said being able to attend the draft is an “incredible” opportunity, describing it as “the biggest event in my three years [at Pitt].”

“I’m so hyped to be here,” Shellard said. “I can’t imagine any other time in my life where I’ll be in the same city as the NFL Draft.”

North Shore

Activity on the North Shore was just as high as the countdown to the first pick approached the one-hour mark. Fans migrated across the Roberto Clemente Bridge from Downtown toward Acrisure Stadium, where the draft stage is set.

While the draft officially begins today, the festivities started earlier this week. Arjun Manjunath, a full-time social media influencer who graduated from Pitt last spring, said he attended several Media Day events on Wednesday, including the Entrepreneurship Heroes event and the Steelers Country ribbon-cutting ceremony. He said he came to “just show up and have fun.”

“It’s been really fun, actually — just running around and exploring everything the city is doing,” Manjunath said. “I feel like this is [a] once-in-a-lifetime [experience]. When else am I going to go to the NFL Draft in a city that I’m so familiar with?”

Bailey Frederick, a Bills fan from Fairmont, West Virginia, said she decided to come to the draft because she lives only an hour away.

“The draft doesn’t come close by that often, so I had to come check it out,” Frederick said. “I’m excited to feel the community and the environment of all the people who love the NFL and love football.” 

Pitt students Anuj Kaul and Benno Loeb traveled from Oakland to the draft in a “cheap” Uber ride and encountered little traffic.

Kaul, a senior biology major from Pittsburgh and a Steelers fan “since [he] was born,” said attending the draft is special.

“The Steelers mean a lot to me,” Kaul said. “I like being around a lot of people and seeing everyone’s passion for football.”

Loeb, a senior psychology and film student, came wearing a Packers jersey because he has been a “lifelong” Green Bay Packers fan.

“It’s exciting to be a part of football in the spring,” Loeb said. “We don’t get to do that much.”

Ahmod Bullock, a Vikings fan, drove into Pittsburgh from Harrisburg for the draft with his friends Malibu Mooch and Jake Jackson on Thursday and arrived in Pittsburgh at 12 p.m. He said he came to the draft because he loves Pittsburgh and frequently visits to see his nephew, defensive back Shawn Lee Jr., play football for Pitt.

Bullock arrived at the draft area around 5 o’clock and said one of the highlights so far has been the people.

“It’s crazy. It’s about a million people in here,” Bullock said, referring to the Draft Theater area.

Jackson said he has visited Pittsburgh frequently, both to visit and see Lee Jr., who he saw grow up, play football. According to

Jackson, Pittsburgh is the best city to come to for football.

“This is the best experience in Pennsylvania and in the world,” Jackson said.

Mooch said he’s always wanted to go to the draft.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I watched it on TV, and I was like, ‘If I ever get a chance to go to the draft I’m going to go,’” Mooch said.

The NFL Draft Theater

In the audience, fans from Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin said they were “impressed” with Pittsburgh’s walkability and cleanliness.

Krystal Prince, a Lions fan who drove into Pittsburgh with her family on Tuesday, said her favorite part about Pittsburgh is its walkability and the public transit. She took PRT’s light rail from where she is staying in Mt. Lebanon to the draft location.

“We have no light rail system at all in Michigan,” Prince said. “We have to survive just on our cars or just a city bus. It’s been nice [in Pittsburgh] to not have to take our car.” 

Taylor Bloom, who flew in from Las Vegas, is a fan of the Los Angeles Chargers and hosts a Chargers podcast called The Electric Edge. 

“I’ve never been to a draft before. I figured it would be a great time to come out here and see a new city,” Bloom said. “I figured I’d come out and see who the Chargers are going to take this year.”

Bloom visited Downtown on Wednesday and said she was impressed with Pittsburgh. She said “everyone’s really nice” and called it a “super clean city”.

“I’m pleasantly surprised at how nice this city is,” Bloom said. “I’d definitely love to come back here to go see a Pirates game, or even a Steelers game, at some point.”

Sam Hiller, a Green Bay Packers fan from Wisconsin, drove 10 hours to attend the draft on Thursday. Hiller said it is his first time visiting Pittsburgh, and he decided to come after enjoying last year’s draft in Green Bay.

“I think [Pittsburgh] is a gorgeous place,” Hiller said. “We had such a good time with the draft last year that we decided to go this time too.”

Hiller said he has decided to stay for the entire first round, despite the Packers not having a pick in it. 

“We’re planning on staying for a while,” Hiller said. “We’re just enjoying the people right now —  they’ve been very fun to talk to.”

Benjamin Parker, a Pitt first-year studying astrophysics, took an Uber downtown to attend the draft. He said he hopes to enjoy the evening and “mess with some Cowboys fans.” 

Parker said he and his friends have spent the two hours they’ve been on the North Shore trying to spot jerseys from every NFL team.

“We did that before we even got [to] the stadium,” Parker said. “We got at least two of every team.”