“We are excited that the City of Pittsburgh has been selected to host the 2026 NFL Draft,” Steelers president Art Rooney II said in a statement. “This will be an amazing event that will highlight everything the region has to offer on a national and international level. I truly appreciate the work that has been done by VisitPITTSBURGH, the NFL, local and state officials, and internally within our organization to accomplish our goal of being selected to host the NFL Draft. We look forward to football fans from all across the country coming to enjoy our city’s culture while also showcasing our rich football history and tradition in the region.”

Founded in 1933, the Steelers are the NFL’s seventh-oldest franchise and hold seniority over every AFC team. Their six Super Bowl championships are tied for most in the NFL with the New England Patriots, and the franchise’s sustained success over the past 50-plus years is largely unrivaled.

Rooney said at the Spring League Meeting that the 2026 NFL Draft will likely take place on the outskirts of Acrisure Stadium, where the Steelers have called home since 2001. Pittsburgh’s NFL home games have been played where the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers meet since 1970 beginning with the iconic Three Rivers Stadium, which sat right next Acrisure Stadium before it was demolished in 2001.

Pittsburgh will host a slate of draft-related activities during the three-day event, including a variety of community events, a concert series presented by Bud Light and the NFL Draft Experience — the league’s ultimate fan festival. The NFL draft will be an opportunity for Pittsburgh to showcase itself as an American travel destination while also enjoying an economic boom accompanied by the event.

Heralded as the league’s biggest offseason event, the NFL draft has attracted over 3 million fans across the country since 2015. Most recently, the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit saw a record-breaking 775,000 fans in person and garnered more than 53.6 million total viewers.

The Pittsburgh draft will mark the return of the league’s annual player selection meeting to the Steel City for the first time since 1948, when it took place at the Fort Pitt Hotel.

Seventy-two years later, Pittsburgh will come full circle and set the stage for one of the NFL’s most highly anticipated events in 2026.