Irish government 'actively engaging' with NFL for Steelers' game in Croke Park

The formation of the new government has delayed details of the event being confirmed. Pic: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ NFL regular season game in Croke Park in September could be officially announced before Sunday week’s Super Bowl.

As reported by the Irish Examiner in December, a position document had been prepared by the NFL, GAA and the Department of Arts, Culture, Communications, Media and Sport.

It required the green light from the new government and on Thursday the department confirmed: “The Government is actively engaging at present with the NFL regarding the possibility of hosting an NFL game in Dublin. It is hoped to bring a recommendation to government as soon as possible.” 

The formation of the new government has delayed details of the event being confirmed. Fine Gael’s Patrick O’Donovan was last week confirmed as Catherine Martin’s replacement as minister for the recalibrated department. 

On Wednesday, Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue was announced as Minister of State with responsibility for sport.

It has been reported in the US that the Steelers’ team were informed they will likely be playing in Croke Park this autumn. It has also been suggested the Green Bay Packers will provide the “away” opposition in GAA HQ.

Fine Gael’s election manifesto made specific mention to the staging of an NFL game in Ireland as an objective. 

“Actively bid to host major international sporting events, including the Rugby World Cup, European Football Championships, NFL games, and major athletics championships. This will drive tourism, stimulate the economy, and raise Ireland’s international profile.” 

September’s game is set to be the Steelers’ first international game since 2013 when they faced the Minnesota Vikings in London. The Pennsylvanian franchise has the NFL’s international marketing rights in Ireland.

For several years, Steelers’ owner Art Rooney II, whose great-grandparents hailed from Co Down, has actively sought for them to stage a regular season game in Ireland. His late father and club owner Dan was US ambassador to Ireland from 2009 to ’12.

The NFL are set to stage eight regular season games internationally later this year including three in London (two in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one in Wembley Stadium), one in Berlin (Olympic Stadium) and another in Madrid (Santiago Bernabeu). Brazil, where in Sao Paulo the Steelers and Packers as the designated home team met in September last year, and Mexico have also been touted.

Both teams were beaten in this year’s wild card play-offs. The Steelers’ last Super Bowl success came in the 2008-09 season, the Packers in 2010-11 when they defeated the Steelers in the showdown.