PHILADELPHIA – The City of Philadelphia released guidance today for businesses operating during the 2017 NFL Draft Experience. The Draft is a three-day festival taking place Thursday, April 27th through Saturday, April 29th on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Eakins Oval and the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The event will be open to the public from 12pm-11pm on Thursday, April 27th and Friday, April 28th.  Hours on Saturday, April 29th are 10am-6pm.

“There’s no reason to expect the inconvenience for businesses around the Parkway to be anything like what was experienced during the Pope’s visit,” said Karen Lockhart Fegely, Deputy Commerce Director for Neighborhood Business Services. “Businesses can stay open and we hope some will benefit from this free, family-friendly event which is expected to bring 200,000 visitors to our City over three days.”

While trash pick-up and other City services for businesses and residents in the Art Museum area will not be impacted by the Draft, traffic delays can be expected as a result of related road closures. Road closures are being rolled out in several phases in order to minimize the impact to residents and businesses. The first round of closures begin Monday, April 10. A full list and a map of road closures and parking restrictions is available at https://www.phila.gov/press-releases/mayor/city-of-philadelphia-releases-information-relating-to-the-2017-nfl-draft/.

Please note, customers, employees and deliveries will be able to access businesses and parking lots located in areas designated as “Local Access” at all times. During event days, individuals may be asked by police on duty to provide identification, but it will not be required for entry.

To avoid traffic delays, customers and employees are encouraged to utilize public transport. More information can be found here:

• www.septa.org/events/nfl-draft.html
• www.septa.org/media/releases/2017/04-06-2017.html

If a business experiences issues or has questions during the NFL Draft impacting their operations, they are encouraged to call the Department of Commerce’s Business Services Hotline at 215-683-2100 or contact the department via email at business@phila.gov. This line will be operational for extended hours during the Draft: Thursday 4/27 and Friday 4/28 9am-11pm and Saturday 4/29 10am-6pm.

Please note, vending inside the Draft Experience is strictly prohibited and only currently-licensed Center City vendors may vend within the Center City special vending district. For information about obtaining proper licenses for vending in areas that are not otherwise prohibited, please see https://business.phila.gov/vendor-licenses/. This map shows the location of special vending districts and prohibited areas other than the Draft Experience site.

To share ongoing promotions and reach both local residents and out of town guests participating in NFL Draft activities, businesses are encouraged to post on social media using the hashtag #DraftDeals. Information on special deals and attraction information is available at www.draftinPHL.com/deals.

Additional information about the NFL Draft Experience, city-wide happenings and deals can be found here: www.draftinPHL.com.