The city of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to be moving closer to hosting the 2026 NFL Draft.

According to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones, there is a “strong sense” from the league meetings in Nashville this week that the Steelers and the city will be awarded the 2026 NFL Draft, with an official announcement expected soon.

At the NFL league meetings here in Nashville, there’s a strong sense that Pittsburgh will be awarded the 2026 NFL draft, sources tell @NFLonCBS. Announcement later today is possible.

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) May 22, 2024

Pittsburgh officially submitted its bid to host either the 2026 or 2027 NFL Draft back in February, and in late April it was reported by WTAE’s Andrew Stockey that the Steelers were on the short list to host the draft in 2026 or 2027.

Team president and owner Art Rooney II stated during a Q&A session last week at Acrisure Stadium during a community event that things were looking good regarding the bid to host the draft, and that the team was expecting to hear at some point this week. 

Now, that announcement appears to be on the horizon, with some potentially great news for not only the city, but the franchise as well.

Back in February, Pittsburgh officially announced its bid to host the draft, releasing a hype video in the process to make clear their interest in hosting the draft. The official bid to host the draft came after rumors of the city being a future destination started up last fall  as NFL personnel reportedly were scouting locations to possibly hold the event in Pittsburgh.

The bid is in!

We have officially submitted Pittsburgh’s NFL Draft Bid to host the event in 2026 or 2027.@vstpgh | @Innamo | @gainey_ed pic.twitter.com/cWY8VppX0j

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 16, 2024

Advertisement

Then, shortly after the 2023 season concluded, Rooney started to make his public push for the city to host the draft, confirming the team’s interest, which is what the Steelers have had as a goal since the NFL began shopping locations after holding the draft at Radio City Music Hall in New York.

During the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, which saw more than 775,000 fans attend the three-day event in the Motor City, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hinted that Pittsburgh could be coming soon as a host city for the NFL Draft in either 2026 or 2027.

“They’re in the mix,” Goodell said during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “I’ll tell you that. So that may be coming soon.”

Soon appears to have arrived. We’ll see if an official announcement is made today from Nashville.

If Pittsburgh is awarded the 2026 NFL Draft, it would have quite the economic impact on the city. According to Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, who spoke with WPXI’s Jenna Harner late last week, the draft coming to Pittsburgh would have an economic impact between $100-$150 million.

“We’re estimating there’ll be over 300 to 350,000 visitors that would come to Pittsburgh, putting an economic impact anywhere from 100 million to $150 million,” Fitzgerald said to Harner, according to WPXI.com. “And that’s I think being actually somewhat conservative.”

Fitzgerald might be a bit conservative there, especially with the impact the draft had on Detroit, bringing in an estimated $165 million over the three-day draft.

Rooney stated that having the draft in Pittsburgh would be the biggest visitor event in the city’s history.

“I think it’d probably be the biggest visitor event in the history of the city,” Rooney said in February to WTAE’s Andrew Stockey. “And so it’s very exciting. We think where Pittsburgh is located, not only will we have thousands of Steeler fans, but would have thousands of fans from all of the NFL cities that are, you know, let’s say within a 500-mile radius of Pittsburgh. So, I think it would be, number one, a huge visitor event for the city.”

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — One of the biggest threats during severe weather is the trees in your yard. 

Summer isn’t here just yet, but Southwestern Pennsylvania has seen its fair share of intense weather, including 10 tornadoes this month, and more severe weather could be on the way this week.

Can you do anything to make sure your trees are stormproof? KDKA-TV went to the professionals who were out on a job Tuesday to find out.

Monster Tree Service of North Pittsburgh is staying busy keeping trees healthy, removing trees before severe weather hits, and answering calls after storms send trees crashing down onto yards, homes, or vehicles.

Owner of Monster Tree Service of North Pittsburgh, Cindy Starr Stewart, said every tree poses a risk, especially the ones close to your home.

“We don’t have a crystal ball, so people often want us to come and want us to know if this tree is safe. We don’t know. There’s trees that look like they’re going to fall, and they stand forever, and there’s trees that look perfectly fine, then a storm comes through, and they fall,” she said.

Stewart said to help maintain a tree and make it healthier, don’t do volcano mulching that buries the trunk in mulch, and get the tree pruned if it has a lot of leaves and branches because they act like a sail in the wind.

“One of the things people have to understand is what kind of risk are they willing to take, and if branches are hanging over their home, especially if they haven’t had them pruned recently, one of the things you can do is get some of that deadwood pruned out of your trees,” Stewart said.

She said that dead trees can be easy to spot, including if there are no leaves on them right now.

“If you look up in a tree and see areas that aren’t leafing like they used to, and they seem thinner than other areas. The other things you’re looking for are splits or cracks in the tree,” Stewart said.

Keep in mind that it’s always cheaper and safer to take down a tree while it’s alive.

“Because once it’s dead, it’s a lot more expensive to take care of and a lot more dangerous,” Stewart said.

So, when should you call a certified arborist to take a look?

“If people are looking out at their trees and they see, ‘I have trees that are close to my house, I have trees that keep dropping dead wood in my yard, I have trees that if they did fall it would take out my home,’” Stewart said.

Tree removals can cost thousands of dollars, but Monster Tree Service and most other tree service companies do consultations at no cost. They help you make a good decision on whether to maintain or remove a tree.

“We’re here to help; we are like on the front line, and we know that, and so we are always in the ready, always paying attention to the weather, and ready to help people because it is scary. It’s a big deal,” Stewart said.

“Keeping your trees safe and healthy is really important, and it’s an investment. It’s an investment in your property, it’s an investment in your homes, [and] it’s an investment in your peace of mind for your family,” she added. 

Check your home insurance to find out what your coverage is to make sure you’d be covered if a tree fell on your home, and remember, if a neighbor’s tree falls on your property, the damages become your responsibility.

Very few home insurance policies help with preventing tree damage. Steward said a home equity line of credit usually provides the best rate for tree removal projects.