New retailers, art installations and even a small museum are popping up throughout Downtown Pittsburgh in the lead-up to the 2026 NFL Draft — and officials hope they remain long after the event.
Mayor Corey O’Connor, standing Wednesday afternoon in a new Moonshot Museum Simulation Lab on Penn Avenue, said new experiences, businesses and art Downtown will ensure the city looks vibrant and welcoming for the three-day draft, which kicks off next Thursday.
O’Connor, who marked his 100th day in office Wednesday, said he wants to leverage the draft to spur more businesses and visitors to come to Downtown.
“This is Pittsburgh’s opportunity to build off of this momentum,” he said.
O’Connor joined Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Moonshot officials in what appeared to be a large tent set up within the museum. It serves as a simulated planetarium and is one of several immersive displays set up around the site.
Jimyse Brown, Moonshot Museum’s executive director, said it was a “no-brainer” to take up the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s suggestion of opening a new location Downtown, across the river from an existing North Shore site.
“Moonshot wants to draft you to the moon,” Brown said, adding she’s also hopeful that people will continue to visit the Downtown simulation lab after next weekend.
Cate Irvin, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership’s senior director of economic development, believes experiential activities like Moonshot Museum — which is across the street from the Arts Landing outdoor civic space set to open before the draft — will encourage people to spend more time Downtown.
“This is a huge win for Downtown,” she said. “These are the types of experiences that we want in Downtown Pittsburgh.”
Not just for tourists
The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership has ramped up efforts to fill empty storefronts ahead of the draft. More than 100 projects have been completed or are underway, according to the partnership. That includes 53 retail and art installations.
Jeremy Waldrup, the partnership’s president, said they’ve also repaired 38 sidewalks.
“These are details that make our public spaces and public realm better,” Waldrup said.
While they’ve been operating on a draft deadline, Waldrup said he hopes the businesses and improvements coming to Downtown stay “much, much longer” than the draft.
These improvements aren’t just for tourists. They make the city better for Pittsburghers for years to come, Innamorato said.
“When we’re thinking about the next generation of Downtown Pittsburgh, we’re thinking about how is it a family friendly, vibrant neighborhood for every single person?” Innamorato said.
Officials during a walking tour Wednesday visited a new furniture store, Fiore Verde, which plans to open during draft week. They stopped to admire new art installations, including one that played calming music while displaying an image of a grassy field under a blue and purple sky on a digital screen.
“Public art makes great public spaces,” Waldrup said.
Partnering with Shiftworks Community Public Arts, the organization has installed new artwork from 21 local artists throughout the Golden Triangle, Shiftworks Executive Director Sallyann Kluz said.
“We see this as proof of concept for a larger approach,” she said.
Downtown’s momentum
Artist Owen Lowery showed officials his displays, which feature various screens designed to look like windows into other worlds. One shows a tree in a meadow. Another appears to portray a galaxy.
A few blocks away, local artist Neal Lucas Hitch showed off an installation he’s named For Seasons. It features color-changing vinyl window decals, which turn blue in warmer weather and purple on colder days.
People can touch their warm hands on the display to make it change hues, he explained, using his pointer finger to write ‘Hi.’
Improvements large and small have been undertaken ahead of the draft, which is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of fans and thrust Pittsburgh into a national limelight.
Upgrades at Point State Park have already been completed. Work to improve Market Square and create a new outdoor civic space in the Cultural District are expected to wrap up before the draft.
City crews, volunteers and others have been hard at work beautifying the area, collecting litter and fixing sidewalks to make sure the city looks its best for the NFL’s marquee offseason event.
“I think we’re seeing Downtown on an amazing momentum journey,” Irvin said. “And I wait to see where we’re going to go next.”