If things go well in the months ahead, the city of Pittsburgh should be able to land the opportunity to host a future NFL draft, whether that be in 2026 or 2027.
After officially submitting a bid to the NFL in mid-February, the Steelers’ franchise now awaits word.
For GM Omar Khan, who sat down with WPXI’s Jenna Harner for a one-on-one Thursday, there is “no better city” to host the NFL draft in the future.
“It would just be awesome. There is no — I’m confident in saying that, and I’m biased ’cause I live in Pittsburgh and I love it here — here is no better city to host the draft,” Khan told Harner, according to video via WPXI.com. “It’s long overdue…I was involved in early conversations when we talked about it a few years ago, and I think it would be great. I think the moment we have it here, hopefully we’ll get it, but the moment we have it here, we’re gonna put on such a good show that the NFL’s gonna want to come back.
“I’ll tell you what, it would be great to send someone down to wherever the draft is, pick ’em up and bring ’em to the facility the night of the draft. That would be pretty sweet.”
Given that Pittsburgh is a football-crazed, there really is no better place to host the NFL draft. Though the logistics of the draft will be interesting to see how and where things are set up and held for the NFL’s marquee offseason event, Pittsburgh is a really good spot for the draft, especially with a pillar of a franchise like the Steelers making it well-known they want it on the banks of the Three Rivers.
The NFL started to move the draft around the league in 2015 after many years at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The 2024 NFL Draft will be hosted by the Detroit Lions, and the 2025 edition will be set in Green Bay, sticking in the NFC North. With Pittsburgh’s bid to host a future draft being submitted in mid-February, odds are seemingly high that it will host one of the drafts after that, whether that’s in 2026 or 2027.
That announcement from the league regarding the 2026 NFL Draft should come sometime in May during the league meetings. At least, Steelers owner Art Rooney II said he hopes to know by then.
It would be pretty cool to see the NFL draft make its way to Pittsburgh. It would do wonders for the city from an economic standpoint and would be an incredible opportunity for the Steelers to shine in the national spotlight during the event, too.
And, as Khan points out, it would be really cool for the Steelers to select a player who is in attendance at the draft, and then bring him right to the facility that night. What a sight that would be.
