Councilmembers have questions for Gainey on money for VisitPittsburgh ahead of 2026 NFL Draft
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — There have been some questions from Pittsburgh City Council members about what councilmembers feel was a lack of transparency by Mayor Ed Gainey's office with money the city plans to use toward a host committee for the NFL draft in 2026.
The legislation at the center of everything has been $1 million of city money for VisitPittsburgh for draft services. It became a sore subject as councilmembers Anthony Coghill and Bob Charland felt there should have been some conversations with the council before the legislation came out.
"None of those conversations happened, at least none that I was with," District 3 Councilman Bob Charland said.
Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said the administration followed the same policy it does when asking for city council's approval on money. The administration sent it over the Friday before it was proposed.
The mayor's office talked it over with Pittsburgh City Council President Daniel Lavelle and Councilman Khari Mosley, who proposed the legislation last week. For about an hour, the council and Pawlak went over future communication and further draft expenses. Word of this situation over the money reached the Steelers and NFL level.
Ultimately, Pittsburgh City Council gave a first round of votes in favor of the legislation. Councilman Coghill and Charland made it clear they don't want to get in the way of the draft coming here.
"The important thing is that everyone agrees on the valuable contribution this event will have on our city," Pawlak said.
There are a few more steps before final approval. According to Charland, the money will come from savings on other projects. This money is part of an $11 million package. This includes $3 million from Allegheny County, $2 million from Visit Pittsburgh and another $5 million from the private community.
"Our job is to put together a budget that we can put to work here locally and investment to make sure Pittsburgh is ready to welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors," Visit Pittsburgh CEO Jerad Bachar said.
Meetings continue regularly to further plan out the spending of these funds. The lion's share of setting up for the draft is the responsibility of the NFL.