Pittsburgh City Council approves $1 million in spending for 2026 NFL Draft

By Hallie Lauer / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Despite logistical concerns over the 2026 NFL draft, City Council approved a $1 million allocation and commitment of in-kind services to the event.

During discussion last week, multiple council members raised concerns not only over the lack of communication from Mayor Ed Gainey regarding the money, but also questions about how it will be spent.

Council members said that they were not informed that part of the city’s bid would include a monetary obligation. The city is one part of the host committee, which is made up of various public and private sector organizations that help to prepare the parts of the city not directly involved in the draft for the large number of visitors.

It’s up to the NFL to organize and prepare the North Shore for all the draft-related events.

The money will go toward things like street beautification, public safety and marketing.

The city’s $1 million commitment is one part of $11 million coming from other entities within the host community. The county has pledged $3 million, while $2 million will come from VisitPittsburgh and $5 million will come from a variety of corporate entities, led by PNC Bank.

Multiple council members indicated that they would like to be involved in broader conversations on how the city’s money is spent.

“If there are concerns about how the dollars are going to be spent, the controller can audit those,” Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith said Tuesday morning, adding that there needs to be “real dialogue” regarding how the funds are spent.

“I think the bigger concern is how much we’re going to spend in in-kind services,” she said.

The in-kind services price was another concern multiple council members raised last year, noting that the city already regularly has to contract out EMS services for football games and concerts.

Last week, Councilman Bob Charland said one of his concerns was the amount of overtime that will have to be paid to police officers, firefighters and paramedics.

He noted that overtime for those employees in Detroit, which hosted the 2024 draft, was funded by the state of Michigan.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has previously indicated that the state is prepared to “step up and make sure that this event … goes off great,” but there is not yet a “firm sense” of the state's financial commitment at this point, according to Jake Pawlak, the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

The funding allocation passed unanimously in council Tuesday morning.