KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The stage or theater buildout is beginning for the 2023 NFL Draft in the south parking lot of Kansas City’s Union Station.

Union Station spokesman Michael Tritt said 200 semitrailers are needed to build the theater. On Wednesday, crews started bringing in the steel needed for the stage.

“If you look out front, you see evidence that that’s happening right now,” Tritt said Wednesday.

“We’re in preparation for what we know is going to be a historic moment. The anticipation is off the charts for sure. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the city, for Union Station, for all of us that occupy this Midtown area.”

Tritt wants to remind people the shops and restaurants inside the building are still open. 

“It’s really critical that the public continue to come enjoy the station as you always have leading right up to the draft and then right after the draft as well,” he continued. “That’s how we pay our bills here. That’s what keeps the station beautiful for big events like this.”

When it comes to Amtrak service and the post office, Tritt said they’re going to let those individual tenants communicate with their customers when they stop services.

Kansas City residents looking at the broad picture are just happy the draft will be here.

“I think everybody’s been looking at us ever since the Royals won,” Regina Moore told FOX4 Wednesday.

Moore said the two Super Bowls the Kansas City Chiefs have won since then have helped, too.

“Having the draft and then soccer here, there’s just a lot of events I think that are important that keeps reminding the world that Kansas City is something to be keeping its eye attentive to,” she continued.

Because the south parking lot is closed, if you plan to drive to Union Station, you’ll enter the facility via Broadway Street to get to the West Yards Garage on the west side of the building.

Broadway Street, also known as Honorary Archives Way, is not the same street as the much heavier travelled Broadway Boulevard.

The south doors to Union Station are closed right now, too, because of the stage buildout. But the east entrance into the building is open where people would get off of the Kansas City Streetcar to get into the building. 

The 2023 NFL Draft starts Thursday, April 27, and goes until Saturday, April 29.