The Strip District, the Siamese twin of Downtown Pittsburgh, appeared to be the twin that was neglected during the 2026 NFL Draft. Media reports consistently discussed how the “NFL Draft drew 320,000 fans on its first day, but the Strip District has seen unexpectedly low foot traffic, leaving business owners surprised and disappointed.”
Ajmail Matin posted an article on www.linkedin.com titled: “The Immaculate Deception: What the 2026 NFL Draft Revealed About Pittsburgh’s Divided Soul.” Mr. Matin writes: “The NFL and Fanatics built something world-class and it was awesome to be able to be on the ground floor while it was happening in real time. However, a couple miles away, you’ll find a sports retailer on Penn Avenue staring at thousands of dollars in unsold inventory, wondering if they would break even. A T-shirt shop that doubled its staff described the Strip District as a ghost town. A Black-owned food vendor at the city’s officially permitted Draft Bash logged 25 orders in 7.5 hours. The owner of a beloved North Side institution compared the weekend to bracing for a blizzard and getting an inch of snow.”
On the final day of the Draft, April 25, I was on my way to a ministers’ conference and my associate and I decided to stop and grab a fish sandwich along with a seafood platter. When we were leaving, I asked one of the vendors how the three days went as far as sales were concerned. He replied: “These people were full of it. This was s__sburgh as far as I am concerned.”
As far as I could see the Strip District appeared as if the merchants were operating on some sort of federal holiday. It was supposed to be a ticket as hot as the Sahara desert, but as far as I was concerned, it appeared just to be pretty much deserted.
VisitPITTSBURGH was an abject failure, at least as far as the Strip merchants and vendors were concerned. As far as I am concerned, the “cheese wagon” broke down around 15th and Penn, just shy of the money zone.
On the final day of the Draft, Jack Troy and Rachel Wilkinson posted a story on triblive.com: “NFL Draft-driven restaurant traffic a tale of haves and have nots—Dining and drinking options closest to event thriving, but effect fades in just a few blocks.”
McFadden’s Irish pub boasted a line down North Shore Drive on Thursday afternoon, April 23. The bar between PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium usually doesn’t get jam-packed until late at night, but business was booming most of Thursday and Friday, April 24.
The reason why is hard to miss. McFadden’s is within eyesight of the 2026 NFL Draft, or at least the outer edges of the fan experience section.
About a half-mile away, Peppi’s sandwich shop on Western Avenue had simplified its menu, stocked up on ingredients and brought in extra staff ahead of what owner Jeff Trebac expected to be a hectic three days. Instead, business has been anemic.
In the Tribune-Review article, Jeff Trebac, owner of Peppi’s sandwich shop on Western Avenue, said he took a gamble and lost. Barely any business during the Draft.
Why would the NFL allow the food giant Aramark to come in and take opportunities from private vendors who may never have this opportunity again? Aramark sells their products on game days and special events. If only 100 of more than 1,000 businesses that applied to the NFL’s vendor program made the cut, then businesses that gross more than let’s just say, $3 million annually, should be prohibited from applying. Allowing Aramark and others like them to be issued permits is like issuing food stamps to Elon Musk during a pandemic.
Mia Hollie from publicsource.org posted an article: “NFL Draft sales short of goal line for some Pittsburgh businesses.”
The article in part said: “From the Strip District to Allegheny West, businesses that stocked up and boosted staffing said they were underwhelmed by customer counts early in the three-day event. Sharon Zambrano, center, of Allison Park, helps customers at PGH Sports in the Strip District during the first day of the NFL Draft at PGH Sports in the Strip District. Zambrano and her sister, who work regularly in healthcare, came in to help the owners on what they mistakenly thought would be a busy day.”
First, the have-nots should be accustomed to not having, right? Secondly, what makes, you, me or anyone else with an IQ larger than their shoe size have the right to even ponder the possibility that they will be permitted to drink from the “fountain of wealth?” Remember the days of “Jim Crow” when Black and White citizens were not permitted to drink from the same water fountain? Well, this is now the era of “Slim Crow,” where the rich drink from one water fountain and the poor must drink from a separate fountain. When the 2096 NFL Draft rolls back around to Pittsburgh, you guys better come to my gravesite, and scatter a few dozen perogies around my tombstone for the raccoons to nibble on. You better also pour a case of Iron City beer on my grave to water the grass. If you don’t, I’m going to haunt future generations of “yinzers” and reside in their attics and sing, “Here We Go Steelers,” until the 2096 training camp begins.