Some Downtown Pittsburgh businesses have a simple message for their employees during the 2026 NFL Draft: Stay home.
Big companies like PPG, Highmark and PNC are telling workers they don’t have to fight traffic, navigate around the detours or deal with the hassle of finding a coveted parking spot during the massive event from April 23-25.
Hundreds of thousands of football fans are expected to flood into the Pittsburgh area.
A spokesman for PPG, the Pittsburgh-based paints company, said the business is excited to see the draft come to town — but isn’t expecting workers to make it to the office.
“During the week of the draft, we are advising Downtown employees to work remotely due to expected road closures, increases in traffic, and premium parking rates in the area,” spokeswoman Greta Edgar Borza said.
Koppers, the Pittsburgh-based chemical company, is offering employees the option to work from home, said spokeswoman Jessica Franklin Black.
The decision, she said, was spurred by “anticipated traffic and parking challenges.”
BNY’s Downtown offices will be open, but employees whose commutes will be affected by the event can work remotely, the company said in a written statement.
PNC urged employees who typically report to Downtown office buildings to work from home. But workers staffing bank branches throughout the area still need to show up in person to serve clients, a PNC spokesperson said in a statement.
Point Park University and Pittsburgh Public Schools have announced their classes will be held virtually.
At Highmark Health, Downtown workers — except “critical team members who run onsite operations” — will work virtually, spokeswoman Kristin Ash said.
Health care personnel, of course, have to come to work in person. That includes those working at AHN Downtown Express Care.
The express care site will expand hours — from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. — that Wednesday through Sunday to accommodate the influx of visitors, Ash said.
UPMC in a statement said its clinicians will be at the health care giant’s facilities during the draft, but remote work may be considered for staff who can work from home.
The health care network also is encouraging patients to allow extra travel time when they’re driving to appointments in the city.
On the other side of the river, Light of Life Rescue Mission — which offers a shelter and other services for the city’s homeless population — needs workers to staff its North Side location.
Because it’s so close to the draft’s footprint on the North Shore, some workers are contemplating spending the night at the shelter rather than driving through traffic and detours during the event, Executive Director Jerrel Gilliam told TribLive.
Despite some closures, not everything Downtown will grind to a halt.
Restaurants and retailers have told TribLive they’re gearing up for the masses, with some stockpiling on supplies or hiring additional staffers.
Allegheny County’s Downtown operations won’t be completely closed, though some will run with “lighter crews” so some employees can work from home, spokeswoman Abigail Gardner said. For example, she said the courts will be open but will have fewer hearings scheduled.
The City of Pittsbugh will be operating normally.