With the 2025 NFL Draft in Green Bay in the books, draft aficionados can now turn their focus to the 2026 Draft, which will be held in … Pittsburgh! And the dates have already been announced: April 23-25, 2026.
If you haven’t been to Pittsburgh for sports, let us tell you: it’s a great sports town. We expect that the city will lean into the event and put on a great show.
If you’re interested in checking it out, you may want to start looking right now at refundable lodging options. For a great breakdown of your lodging zone choices, take a look at our Insider Guide to PNC Park, which is the home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The stadiums are just down the street from each other, so our advice from PNC Park is entirely relevant for Acrisure Stadium as well.
Just be sure to book a room that allows for cancellation, as it’s challenging to know for sure this far in advance if you’ll be able to attend.
Doubleheader Digest
It’s too early to know what else might be going on in Pittsburgh during the draft. There’s always a chance that the Pirates could be playing, but that schedule won’t be released until late summer. And if the Penguins were to be in the playoffs, the Draft would likely take place during the first round. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you updated once these schedules are released.
Where will future drafts be?
Beyond 2026, the host cities for the draft are unknown. Front Office Sports did a comprehensive breakdown of the cities that have submitted applications for the 2027, 2028, and 2029 drafts, which is worth a read. The gist of it is that DC, Denver, and Buffalo are already in the mix, with more cities likely to come.
Our guess is that one of these drafts is awarded to Buffalo. By 2027, the Bills will be playing at their brand-new stadium, and this will be a chance for the NFL to reward them for the accomplishment, as well as showcase it to a national audience. And since Buffalo will likely never host a Super Bowl (because it’s an open-air stadium in a freezing city in February, with not enough hotel rooms to boot), the Draft has become a “next best prize” for some cities.
That’s why we’d expect to see other northern cities throw their hats into the ring for a draft. After hugely successful events in Detroit and Nashville the last two years, the Draft is pretty much a surefire winner for whatever city lands it.
