The quickly approaching NFL Draft has been a point of conversation among leadership at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Tim Muldoon, general manager at the convention center, said all of the exhibit hall spaces have been sold for the week of the draft, which takes place April 23-25.

The convention center has a few other spaces, and “we’ve been brainstorming on how we can maybe get that last couple bookings to get us over the hump, but we’ve made some real good progress,” he said Thursday during his monthly report at the Sports & Exhibition Authority Board meeting. “We’re really excited for that.”

Muldoon said the exhibit halls have been booked for a Pittsburgh Sports Collectible event, a cheer/dance competition and a wheelchair football event.

Due to Downtown hotel rooms being taken by people attending the draft, “we couldn’t book a convention and trade show,” he said. “All the rooms were tied up. So we started looking at other secondary opportunities.”

The convention center is still looking for ballroom and rooftop space to be filled during NFL Draft week with potential parties hosted by NFL teams or sponsors, Muldoon said.

“A lot of them have been given space in the draft footprint,” he said, so convention center space could be for groups looking for additional space. “We had a (potential rooftop) client associated with the NFL Players Association, (but) he backed out a couple weeks ago. So that was disappointing, or we would have been almost over the top.”

ESPN has reached out to the convention center through a third party to look for some space, which could give the center more exposure, Muldoon said.

“We think we have a few leads,” he said. “A couple balls in the air, and we hope to convert at least one of those and have a busy building during the draft.”

A private luncheon will be held in the convention center on April 24, the Friday of the draft, through Visit Pittsburgh to recognize the people who helped support the draft coming to Pittsburgh.

“That was really a huge effort by the whole community,” Muldoon said.

As for parking, Muldoon said the convention center is setting aside spaces to serve people attending events there.

Starting now and going into the coming weeks, Muldoon said the convention center is incorporating the theme of the NFL Draft into its annual winter and spring blitz, and going after some local clients.

Muldoon noted that the NFL Draft helps Pittsburgh and the convention center in the long term, as new people come here and see what the city has to offer.

“(The) leisure market spills over into business — it’s a really important crossover for us,” he said. “I think the whole community is really excited about the opportunity. Here in the convention center, we want to support it any way we can.”

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