PITTSBURGH (PTTP)- The NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh this April and expected to generate over $100 million, but Black small businesses owners are speaking out about their attempted contribution to the event.
Chef David Ellis of Chef N’a Box, applied in advance to become a vendor for the NFL draft downtown, and believed he would be accepted because of his reputation around the city, alongside the legitimate nature of his business: he has insurance, a webpage, and proven sales. But, Ellis’ vendor application was denied and he never received an explanation despite his preparation to become a vendor and his attendance at pre-draft meetings.
Ellis then turned to local events organizer B Marshall, the organizer of events such as Juneteenth Festival and Pittsburgh Soul Food Festival. B Marshall gathered 100 small business to host an event outside of the draft area in Market Square, and applied for a permit. The permit was never denied through the city but also never accepted despite Marshall applying in October
According to the TribLive, the city is not approving any event permits before or after the draft. Additionally attributed to The Trib, the NFL selected 165 vendors out of 1700 applicants, but will not release an official vendor list until after the draft. The president of VisitPittsburgh, the tourism coordinator partnering with the NFL draft, said they are looking to get a a “good, diverse group” of businesses represented at the draft. The NFL said they are “cognizant” of having a representative group of businesses at the draft
Marshall was approached with a plan to allow 5 of his business into the draft, but he didn’t feel comfortable picking 5 out of the 100 who had applied for his event. Ellis said it would be too late to squeeze into draft preparations due to the expected volume of attendees.