PITTSBURGH — In 346 days, the City of Pittsburgh’s North Shore will be packed with NFL fans for the 2026 NFL Draft.
On Monday, the NFL Draft Pittsburgh Host Committee revealed a new countdown clock on the Great Lawn of the North Shore just Southeast of Acrisure Stadium. The clock is located across the street, just off North Shore Drive.
That countdown clock officially signifies the Steelers and Pittsburgh are on the clock. A travel party went to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to see how they planned the NFL Draft, and they will look to build off that success.
“We went on the clock at the end of the Green Bay draft,” Rooney said. “This clock will remind everybody day in and day out that not only are we going to have a lot of fun, but we’ve got a lot of work to do over the next year.”
Art Rooney II, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, attends the unveiling Monday, May 12, 2025 of an NFL Football Draft countdown clock that marks the time until April 23, 2026 when the NFL Draft will be held in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)AP
The 6-foot-wide new clock represents a lot for the city. First, the bridges are the city’s sister bridges along with Allegheny River, with 212 notches. On the bottom, each of the city’s 90 neighborhoods is represented, while on the other side, each of the WPIAL high school football programs dons the steel beam.
On the bottom, each of the city’s 90 neighborhoods is represented, while on the other side, each WPIAL high school football program dons the steel beam.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Inamorato said the city expects between $100 and $200 million in revenue for the city’s economy. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey added the city estimates one million people will visit the Pittsburgh region, which would be a record-breaking number.
Over 600,000 fans attended the NFL Draft in Green Bay, producing. Detroit in 2024 still owns the record, with 775,500 fans coming to the Motor City.
“I believe we’ll get one million people in this region,” Gainey said. “It’ll be the biggest one the NFL has ever seen.”
Steelers team president Art Rooney II was the driver that allowed the city to land the NFL Draft. Gainey said he asked Rooney upon their first meeting if they could make that push, and they did to land it.
Rooney wants the city’s highlights to shined, with a lot of ‘fun’ coming from the local event.
“What this is really going to be about is having fun. If you talk to anybody who’s been to the draft recently, the contingent we just had in Green Bay talked about how much fun people were having in Green Bay,” Rooney said. “Well, this is going to be about talking about how much fun we’re going to have in Pittsburgh. And it’s not just going to be for one weekend. It’s going to be talking about how much fun it is to live here; how much fun it is visit here. So, we have a whole year now to talk about this. And this clock that we’re going to unveil is going to remind us about that every day.”
The 2026 NFL Draft will be held in Pittsburgh from April 23 to 25, 2026. Rooney expects all the hotels to be booked and local businesses to thrive.
Pittsburgh has not hosted the NFL Draft since 1948. VisitPittsburgh states that Point State Park, Acrisure Stadium, and the North Shore will all be utilized in some manner for the weekend, but the specifics are not yet known.
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