The Pittsburgh Steelers have international marketing rights in Ireland, and it’s no secret that the team wants to play a game there at some point. Team president Art Rooney II has repeatedly expressed a desire to play over there, but it will likely take time. However, the NFL is now taking steps to make that possible.
Henry Hodgson, the general manager of the NFL’s United Kingdom Office, stated that feasibility studies are being conducted for games in different cities in the future. Paris and Dublin are among them, and they will take the next steps after the studies are concluded.
“There’s a feasibility study, as we would call it, in a number of different European cities and Dublin is one of those,” Hodgson said to the Irish Star. “Looking at the stadiums, taking local meetings … we’ll take away all of that information, digest it and determine what the next steps are.”
Rooney stated at the NFL Owner’s Meetings this March that the Steelers would push for a game in Ireland. They have not played an international game since 2013, but with nine home games in 2025, it is a solid gamble that the Steelers will end up playing overseas in some capacity in 2025. The likeliest scenario would be Mexico, but with rising enthusiasm in Ireland about the game and the feasibility study taking place, Ireland can not be ruled out.
“Sometime over the next few years, we’re really looking forward to playing a game over in Dublin,” Rooney said in March.
The two stadiums the NFL plans to study are Croke Park and Aviva Stadium. The Steelers played in Croke Park back in 1997 when they faced the Chicago Bears in a preseason game. If they go back to Dublin, it would likely be for a regular-season contest. Aviva Stadium has hosted numerous college football games over its history.