An event featuring Black-owned businesses during the 2026 NFL Draft has earned city approval after a dispute over the event permit.
Event organizer William “B” Marshall, known for hosting large Juneteenth events in the city each year, Monday evening sent TribLive a screenshot showing the city approved his permit to host what he’s calling the Draft Bash during the three-day event.
Marshall said 43 Black- and minority-owned businesses will participate, down from his initial goal of 100.
The event will be hosted in Allegheny Commons Park on the city’s North Side, near the draft footprint. It’s set to run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.
The arrangement marks a compromise between Marshall and the city.
Marshall had initially been eyeing a location along Liberty Avenue and in Market Square. He alleged the city, the NFL and nonprofit Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership were engaging in a “conspiracy” against him when they did not approve those plans.
The city had blacked out event permits for certain areas near the draft — including those Marshall initially requested — for all event promoters.
Marshall has clashed with city officials before, taking Pittsburgh to court over a permitting dispute ahead of his Juneteenth event last year and suing the city and former Mayor Ed Gainey over allegations the mayor withheld funding and slow-walked permits for his events.
For weeks, Marshall has pushed for a space where minority businesses who were not selected as official vendors for the NFL could capitalize on the crowds expected to descend on the city for the draft.
“We’re trying to make sure that with all this money coming into the city, that minority businesses and other businesses … get an opportunity to make some money,” he said during a recent press conference.