The June 14 opening of the Hilton Garden Inn in Cranberry Township has helped boost the number of hotel rooms available in Butler County.

There still are places to stay overnight in Butler County for those who want to travel to Pittsburgh for the NFL draft, but as the day nears, it could be costly.

Next week, football-crazy Western Pennsylvania is welcoming the NFL draft with open arms. With the city’s hotels expected to be swamped, hotels in Butler County are receiving some of the spillover.

“Many of the (Butler County) hotels are seeing substantial business for the draft attendees,” said Amy Pack, president of Experience Butler County. “The hotels are booking up fast, especially on Thursday and Friday of the draft. There is still opportunity for great hotel options, but I would call soon to get into your favorite hotel.”

One hotel that has been making special preparations for the draft is the Hilton Garden Inn in Cranberry Township, which earlier this month reported having only a “limited” number of rooms remaining for the duration of the draft.

The hotel will host a draft-themed pop-up bar decorated by Kristen Kane Events, as well as a special meet-and-greet on the Friday of the draft, with 12 retired NFL players.

“We are excited at the Hilton Garden Inn. We have a mix of fans, media and entertainment staying with us,” said hotel general manager Todd Pifer.

It isn’t just hotels that are expected to benefit from the rush of draft visitors. Grant Wehr, general manager of Bear Run Campground in the Portersville area, said the campground’s sites are nearly halfway booked for the duration of the draft — a time of year when the campground is usually close to empty.

“We open on (April) the 15th. Usually, reservations aren’t fully taking off until Memorial Day,” Wehr said. “I would say it's looking like a much busier weekend than in the past.”

Wehr says that the amount of bookings he has received for draft weekend has steadily increased over early April, mainly from people outside of Western Pennsylvania.

“We’re definitely getting reservations specifically for the draft,” Wehr said. “People have been calling daily. The reservations have just started picking up in the last week as the weather’s gotten a little nicer. Pretty much every day, someone’s calling and looking for sites.”

Those opting for short-term stays at Airbnbs may need some extra room on their credit card to stay in Butler County over draft weekend, but the options vary drastically.

A search of AirBNB’s website on Wednesday, April 15, revealed that stays in Cranberry Township and the immediate vicinity ranged from $115 per night to $3,287.

A guest suite in Evans City would cost $129 for a stay from Thursday to Friday night., and a similar option in Mars was priced at $115 for that overnight.

For homes with multiple rooms, prices came in at $2,055 for a Cranberry Airbnb and at $3,287 for a place in Mars.

Listings for Cranberry Township that specifically mentioned that they are making themselves available for the weekend of the draft featured especially high price tags.

One option was a four-bedroom “private estate” with an asking price of $6,848 for two nights.

To take advantage of the draft, Experience Butler County has stepped up its marketing game by creating a special landing page on its website to attract those who are staying in the county for the draft. The page is a showcase of Butler County shops, restaurants and tourist destinations that visitors can check out while attending the draft.

Last year, Butler County saw positive returns when Oakmont Country Club, also in Allegheny County (just on the other side of the county line), hosted the U.S. Open PGA tournament. The prior year, Butler County itself played host to the Can-Am Police/Fire Games, where first responders from around the country participated in an Olympics-style competition at sports venues across the county.

“Experience Butler County is proud to be a part of the Pittsburgh region, and we are excited to welcome all guests of the draft that stay and or visit Butler County,” Pack said. “An event of this magnitude allows people who have never been to the region to sample all the great things there are to do, and we are sure that Butler County will stand out as a place they want to visit again.”