The 2026 NFL Draft is coming to Pittsburgh, with the Pittsburgh Steelers being awarded the rights to host the event, as it was announced on Wednesday.
At the NFL Spring Meetings, the Steelers and Denver Broncos were the clear favorites to host the event. The NFL opted to hold its draft in Pittsburgh due to a significant push from the city.
The Steelers placed a bid for the 2026 or 2027 Draft earlier this year, fully expecting to be selected for one of the two. Like many previous events throughout the years, it is anticipated that the draft will take place on the North Shore, encircled by PNC Park and Acrisure Stadium, with spectators able to swarm the bridges.
The three-day event will be the third or fourth week in April 2026 and is estimated by the league to generate between $120 million and $160 million for the city.
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“Everybody in Pittsburgh is going to be extremely excited about hosting the NFL draft,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said when it was announced at the NFL spring owners meeting at the Loews Hotel. “The roots of pro football are really deep in our region.”
It will be the first time Pittsburgh has hosted the NFL Draft since 1947. At that time, the draft was held indoor at the now-defunct Fort Pitt Hotel on Penn Avenue.
“We think it will be the largest visitor event in the history of Pittsburgh, hosting hundreds of thousand fans,” Rooney said. “We think Steeler Nation from around the country will come for the event.”
City of Detroit Sees Economic Boost Due To NFL Draft
The 2024 Draft took place in Detroit, and the 2025 NFL Draft will take place in Green Bay at Lambeau Field.
In addition to earning an estimated $160 million in economic benefits from hosting the 2024 Draft, Detroit set a record for attendance, drawing 775,000 visitors over the course of the three days in April, via ESPN.
The Draft in 2025 will take place in Green Bay the following spring. In addition, it was conducted in Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, and Kansas City recently. From 1965 to 2014, the draft was held in New York City, most often at the Radio City Music Hall and the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
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