Steelers vie to host NFL Draft in 2026 or 2027

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to lure one of the NFL’s showcase events to the North Shore.

The Steelers, in conjunction with city officials, are pushing to host the NFL Draft in 2026 or 2027.

A decision is expected to be made at the NFL annual meeting in May, said Brian McCarthy, the league’s chief spokesman for corporate communications.

“Pittsburgh would be an attractive site, as would other sites around the country,” McCarthy said. “There is intense competition to host one of the most anticipated non-playing events of the year.”

McCarthy said NFL teams were informed this May, when Green Bay was awarded the draft for 2025, that bidding could be done for subsequent years. Detroit will host the draft in 2024.

McCarthy said 10 teams interested in hosting the draft were represented in Kansas City this past spring.

“We believe our city will be an excellent host to showcase the great history that connects Western Pennsylvania to the early roots of professional football and the evolution of the game through the decades,” Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said in a statement. “The NFL Draft will draw hundreds of thousands of fans and out-of-town visitors, and we look forward to working with local and state officials and community leaders to ensure we craft a successful bid to host the 2026 or 2027 NFL Draft.”

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Washington and Nashville, which hosted the draft in 2019, were among the cities that also submitted bids for those seasons and could be in the running with the Steelers, who would stage the event next to Stage AE and Acrisure Stadium on the North Shore.

The NFL Draft takes place over three days — the first round is Thursday, the second and third rounds Friday and the final four rounds Sunday. But McCarthy said the event has grown in popularity and scope since the league began awarding it to cities in 2015. It is a weeklong celebration of football.

“For that week, the host city becomes the epicenter of sports and entertainment as we bring in and build many of the same elements that we have during Super Bowl week,” McCarthy said. “There are community events, youth clinics at local parks and schools, an interactive theme park like you would see at the Super Bowl.”

In an op-ed sent to TribLive, Mayor Ed Gainey said, “The first professional game of football was played right here in Pittsburgh, we are home to a global fan base and we believe it is time for the NFL Draft to return home to the City of Champions.”

Gainey highlighted that Pittsburgh is a seven-hour drive from 12 NFL markets and less than a 90-minute flight for half of the residents of North America.

“We have hosted Stanley Cups, NCAA Championships, the MLB All-Star Game, NHL Winter Classic, the NHL Draft and even the G-20 summit,” he wrote. “But we have never been afforded the opportunity to host one of the NFL’s signature events, and it is time for that to change.”

Gainey added that the NFL Draft would offer significant positive impact on the community. He cited Taylor Swift’s two-night performance at Acrisure Stadium this summer that generated $46 million for the local economy, according to VisitPittsburgh, and had local hotel occupancy at 95%.

The NFL Draft had been held in New York for 50 years until the league began rotating it to other cities. After two years in Chicago, the draft moved to Philadelphia; Arlington, Texas; Nashville; Cleveland, Las Vegas and Kansas City.

When the event was held in Nashville in 2019, McCarthy said, it attracted 600,000 fans.

“This has far exceeded what we originally anticipated,” he said. “At Radio City Music Hall, you would get 2,000 fans into the theater, and they would sit there and watch someone reading from the podium. … We’ve turned it into a multi-day extravaganza where football at all levels is celebrated.”

The only time Pittsburgh held the NFL Draft was in December 1947, when it was conducted at the Fort Pitt Hotel.

“It would be awesome,” said defensive tackle and captain Cameron Heyward, who has been with the Steelers since 2011. “Everybody else has gotten it. Everybody has had whack at it. I don’t know if we’re going to be getting a Super Bowl anytime soon.

“I would love to see all our Steeler fans pack the house for a draft, and it would do so much for the city.”

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan expects the 2024 Draft to draw more than 300,000 people and to rival the buzz of Super Bowl XL held there in 2006.

Kansas City’s economic development organization estimated $164 million in economic impact from the three-day event in April.

Nashville holds the record for direct spending by NFL Draft visitors after generating a reported $132.8 million in 2019. Dallas generated $74 million in 2018, and Philadelphia reported $56.1 million in 2017. Chicago claimed $43.9 million in 2016 and Cleveland $42 million in 2021.