Pittsburgh’s first Black mayor, Ed Gainey, has a large number of supporters.
And he, not unlike anyone else in life, has detractors.
But one thing no one can take away from Ed Gainey is that under his watch as Pittsburgh’s mayor, the city was awarded the largest three-day tourism gift in all of America—the 2026 NFL Draft.
Of course, without the Pittsburgh Steelers, without Art Rooney II and the Rooney family, without the Super Bowls, without the great success on the field, the Draft wouldn’t have thought about coming to Pittsburgh. But Mayor Gainey, who is a diehard Steelers fan growing up on the East End, going to Peabody High School and waving Terrible Towels at every turn, told everyone from his first day in office that he wanted the Draft in Pittsburgh.
“I told Mr. Rooney, ‘We gotta get the Draft here,’” Mayor Gainey said a day after the NFL made it official on Wednesday, May 15. He said, ‘Are you sure?’ I said, ‘Yeah, Mr. Rooney, I’m sure because you deserve it.’”
CELEBRATING THE FEAT OF THE DRAFT COMING TO PITTSBURGH IN 2026—JERAD BACHAR, ED GAINEY, SARA INNAMORATO, JOSH SHAPIRO, ART ROONEY II. (PHOTOS BY MARLON MARTIN)
The Steelers held a news conference on Thursday, May 16, at Acrisure Stadium, featuring Rooney, the Steelers’ President; Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro; Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; Mayor Gainey; and VisitPittsburgh President and CEO Jerad Bachar.
News of Pittsburgh getting the NFL Draft spread like wildfire. Pittsburgh’s legions of African American Steelers fans welcomed the news, and with the sheer number of people coming to Pittsburgh, all it can do is help African American businesses Downtown, in the Hill District, the North Side, East Carson Street on the South Side, and maybe into other parts of town where Black businesses reside.
About a month ago, Detroit hosted the 2024 NFL Draft. There, it broke records for the most people to attend the three-day event, where 775,000 fans attended. On Day 1 of the Draft, which hosts the first round but is arguably the most important round to witness, some 275,000 people were in attendance in Detroit.
PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY (PHOTO BY MARLON MARTIN)
But Mayor Gainey isn’t about to let Detroit keep the record.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“Everybody wants to talk about numbers; here’s my number. I predict we will have a million people come to our city,” Mayor Gainey said. [/perfectpullquote]
“Here’s why. See, people remember the Immaculate Reception and Franco Harris. People remember the time that John Stallworth caught the over-the-shoulder catch against the Rams in the Super Bowl. They remember Lynn Swann and his acrobatic catch against the Cowboys, they remember James Harrison run the whole field for a touchdown against Arizona. We have so many memories that people hold dear to themselves that no matter what city you go to, one thing you’re going to find is a Steeler bar or restaurant.”
Mayor Gainey, himself, left Pittsburgh to attend college at Morgan State University in Baltimore.
But he returned, unlike a lot of people who, over the years, may have felt that opportunities weren’t here for African Americans or any ethnicity. And then when the steel mills closed, that caused a massive exodus of Greater Pittsburghers who had to find work in other parts of the country. But Mayor Gainey talked about how, “even though where they reside is where they live, Pittsburgh is home. And now they get to bring back their kids and grandkids so they can see what special place raised them up.”
Mayor Gainey, sporting a gray Steelers cap, said that Pittsburgh gets to demonstrate to those who left how the city moved “from a smoky city to a technology city, to an educational city to a med city, to an AI (artificial intelligence) city…we have continued to grow in the midst of everything and still kept our roots to who we are, that grit, that determination, that strength.”
For those who aren’t football fans, the NFL Draft used to be held each year at Radio City Music Hall, in New York City. But in the last 10 years, the NFL decided to move the Draft to other cities, such as Chicago (2015, 2016), Philadelphia (2017), Dallas (2018), Nashville (2019), Cleveland (2021), Las Vegas (2022) and Kansas City (2023). Pittsburgh actually hosted two NFL Drafts, in 1948 and 1949, but it’s apples and oranges compared to how the Draft was back then compared with now.
When the Draft was held in nearby Cleveland, it generated $42 million in economic impact, according to the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. To be fair, the number was smaller than projected most likely due to COVID-19 still having a hold on the country. Still, 160,000 people turned out in Cleveland for the three-day event.
There was always talk about whether a city as mountainous and dense as Pittsburgh could actually host an NFL Draft…where would you put all those people? You can’t move water, you know.
But Rooney said the space between Acrisure Stadium and PNC Park, all the way back to Federal Street, would be the primary location for the Draft population. It’s basically parking lots between the two stadiums, and in less than two years, that area will be swarmed with football fans from everywhere. Bachar discussed how the Downtown Pittsburgh area will also be used for the Draft as well, with Point State Park as a possibility. But the actual Draft stage is most likely going to be next to Acrisure on the North Shore, not the Point. The Draft is expected to have at least a $120 million economic impact on Pittsburgh.
Oh, and for the people who won’t make the trip to Pittsburgh for the Draft, the city will get exposure to some 50 million viewers on TV and streaming platforms for those three days in late April and/or early May. It could help with some African American professionals who may have thought about making a Columbus, Ohio, or Raleigh, N.C., or Atlanta, Ga., home reconsider, and put Pittsburgh on their radar.
“When I say a million people, people may think I’m laughing but I’m telling the truth,” Mayor Gainey said. “…This is the ‘City of Champions.’ And like I say when we’re in office, if we say we gon’ do it, we do it. Let’s go get it.”