Pittsburg, PA
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey talks hosting 2026 NFL Draft:
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Mayor Ed Gainey is predicting a million people will attend the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh.
He spoke one-on-one with KDKA-TV hours after being joined by Governor Josh Shapiro and Steelers owner Art Rooney at an Acrisure Stadium press conference.
Speaking directly with KDKA, we asked the mayor about the impact the draft will have on the city, what he’s learned from past drafts.
“Today is a great day,” Gainey said. “It’s extremely exciting. I think it’s great for the city.”
Bringing the draft to Pittsburgh has been Gainey’s dream for some time. He’s made it a priority, he said, sharing he brought the idea to Art Rooney during their first meeting after Gainey took office. Gainey said the Steelers have six Super Bowl Titles, and are due to host a draft.
Gainey has watched the growth of the draft from an event inside of Radio City Music Hall to the massive outdoor event that travels to a new city each year.
“I think it explains the phenomenon of football in this nation and in this city, we are a football city we are a football county, we are a football region,” Gainey said.
It’s part of the reason he is predicting the 2026 Draft will be the biggest-ever. He thinks it could be especially popular for Pittsburgh natives who have moved away.
“This will give people the opportunity to come back and see the new Pittsburgh, see the new city, see how we are doing things nowadays,” Gainey said.
He thinks they’ll be impressed.
Also helping attendance reach those new heights is the proximity of Pittsburgh to other NFL cities, he said.
Asked by KDKA what he learned from his trip to the NFL Draft in Detroit, Gainey said collaboration with public safety services is critical.
That goes along with making people can move around without human gridlock.
“I think going there and and listening to them having it in downtown and the impact it had for businesses inside the city was critical for me to hear and know,” Gainey said.
We asked Gainey about if the city made any commitments to the NFL to land the draft.
He responded saying everyone involved has been able to talk about the services they would deliver.
When pressed for specific, Gainey said it’s something that could be discussed later.
The NFL did not require any tax breaks or incentives for the draft, Gainey told KDKA.
Gainey said the NFL is working out any logistical commitments they’d be making with the city.
Governor Shapiro said at the press conference earlier in the day that Pittsburgh would have the state’s support.
“The commonwealth will make the investment,” Shapiro said. “We’re prepared to make this an awesome experience for everybody.
The 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit brought 775,000 people to the city over the course of 3 days. Gainey said Pittsburgh can hit a million.
Visit Pittsburgh told KDKA last year that Allegheny County has 18,000 hotel rooms.
When we told the mayor about that figure, and asked if the city has the space for the million people he predicts will attend the draft, Gainey said he believes we do.
When pressed to learn where, Gainey said he doesn’t know if the 18,000 number includes Airbnbs. In addition he said he does not know if it includes the instances where people stay with family members.
He said counties around Pittsburgh, like Westmoreland, Washington, and Butler counties will all benefit as a lot of people will stay in hotels outside Allegheny County.
“As long as they are close they will stay at those hotels,” Gainey said.
During the early afternoon press conference, Visit Pittsburgh CEO Jerad Bachar said the NFL has spent a considerable amount of time in Pittsburgh figuring out logistics.
“They’re satisfied with everything that we have on offer, including the number of hotel rooms,” Bachar said.
Gainey said there is a lot of work ahead, but it will all be worth it.
“It’s all city, it’s all football, it’s all team. Let’s go get it,” Gainey said.
We also asked the mayor about the specific location of the draft stage and how Point State Park would be used.
He said the NFL hasn’t finalized those details yet so they don’t have anything they can share.
Pittsburg softball improved to 16-4 on the season by sweeping host Kansas City Piper 17-1 in five innings and 15-3 in six innings Saturday afternoon.
Breck Slaughter earned the win in both games. She allowed one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks over five innings during the opener. Then, she allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks over three innings.
AnnaLynn Hudson pitched the last three innings of the day for the Purple Dragons.
Offensively, Pittsburg scored 17 runs on 20 hits during the opener and all nine Dragons reached the hit column. Kenleigh Warford led with four hits, Breck Slaughter and Micah Gomez each had three and Brecken Campbell, Brette Pasteur, Laney Trisler and Emily Shriver each had two. Slaughter, Trisler and Gomez each doubled twice and Pasteur and Shriver also recorded two-baggers. Brilee Mantooth homered. Gomez led the Dragons with four RBI, Campbell had three and Trisler, Mantooth and Shriver drove in two each.
The Dragons closed out their sweep with 15 runs on just 11 hits. Pasteur had a monster performance at the plate with four runs scored, three hits in three at-bats, two home runs and five RBI; she also worked a pair of walks and proved to be an utter pain for Piper pitchers Reagan Asbury and Harper Cordill.
Campbell also homered and finished with three hits for the Dragons. Slaughter and Shriver both finished with two hits and both seniors doubled.
Pittsburg won four games during the week and outscored Labette County, Independence and Piper by a combined 59-11. The Dragons return to Southeast Kansas League play on the road Monday against Independence; the Dragons beat the Bulldogs 14-1 in five innings last Thursday in Pittsburg.
The Dragons are looking to wrap up at least a share of the SEK League title.
Pittsburg 612 44 — 17 20 0
KC Piper 000 01 — 1 2 5
Breck Slaughter and Peyton Morey; Stella Utter and Ginny Garcia. W: Slaughter. L: Utter. 2B—PHS: Slaughter 2, Brette Pasteur, Emily Shriver, Laney Trisler 2, Micah Gomez 2; KCP: Faith Flournoy. HR—PHS: Brilee Mantooth.
——
Pittsburg 225 105 — 15 7 2
KC Piper 100 101 — 3 6 6
Breck Slaughter, AnnaLynn Hudson (4) and Peyton Morey; Reagan Asbury, Harper Cordill (5) and Faith Flournoy. W: Slaughter. L: Asbury. 2B—PHS: Slaughter. HR—PHs: Brecken Campbell, Brette Pasteur 2; KCP: Ginny Garcia.
This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/
Pittsburg, PA
Steelers insider just poured gasoline on the Aaron Rodgers fire following latest report of what he was doing in Pittsburgh
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be in Pittsburgh over the weekend, with the thought that a deal would get done. One Steelers insider backs the report, but adds details that only compound a messy situation.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
At this point, the events of the past two seasons between Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers could probably be a book or movie. Everything from walks on the beach, to him throwing with DK Metcalf before signing, to someone capturing him driving a rental car into Pittsburgh has made waves.
This offseason was supposed to be different, and a decision from Rodgers was supposed to come much earlier. However, the Steelers remain in a holding pattern, and one that many believed would end over the weekend, after it was reported that Rodgers would be in town to sign a contract. Well, that seems to be true, but like much of this saga over the past two years, there seems to be a holdup.
Aaron Rodgers 2025 stats
- 3.4 TD to INT ratio.
- 3,322 passing yards.
- 65.7% completion percentage.
Aaron Rodgers visited Pittsburgh, but not the Steelers over the weekend
“Aaron Rodgers has been in town for a couple days, but the Steelers have not met with him yet and instead have been talking with his agent. Rodgers has stayed away from the team’s South Side facility while the three-day rookie minicamp has been going on.” – Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The news from Dulac comes on the heels of the report from 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh that Rodgers would be visiting the Steelers over the weekend, with the intention to sign his deal.
That report was backed up nationally by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, but some in Steelers media (Mark Kaboly) said that if Rodgers was going to be in town, that was news to the team.
Omar Khan said as much during a radio hit after the reports surfaced, saying that he didn’t know where Rodgers was, but that talks remained fluid. Of course, general managers, including Omar Khan, have been known to bend the truth, which seems to lie somewhere in the middle here.
The bottom line with Aaron Rodgers
It’s obvious to me that the Steelers and Rodgers are held up over money. I know that it was said to not be the case, but you don’t intentionally avoid meeting with a team and have your agent talk to them, just days after they use a tender that determines your 2026 salary, if you’re just going to sign.
I would be surprised if Rodgers doesn’t sign at this point, but it doesn’t change the monetary situation that needs to be worked out here.
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