The Pittsburgh Steelers face a crucial decision-making offseason ahead, but when Mike Tomlin’s squad returns for regular-season action, they’ll do so in history-making fashion.
Pittsburgh will participate in the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in Dublin, Ireland in 2025, which the league announced Friday. Croke Park, home of the Gaelic Athletic Association and the largest sporting arena in Ireland, with a capacity of 82,300, will host the historic matchup. It’ll mark the first time in 28 years since two NFL teams squared off in Ireland, and the first since the Chicago Bears and Steelers played a preseason game at Croke Park.
“We are very excited to be the designated team in the first regular season game to be played in Ireland this upcoming season,” team owner Art Rooney II said, per ESPN. “The opportunity for the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Ireland is truly special, not only because of the Rooney family history there, but also to play in front of the growing number of Steelers fans in Ireland. We are thrilled to be part of this historic event to represent Pittsburgh in a game that brings the NFL to the great sports fans in Ireland.”
Rooney, specifically, has strong ties to Ireland as his family emigrated from the country to Pittsburgh in the 1800s. Arthur Rooney Sr. purchased the franchise in 1933 for $2,500 and the Rooney family has maintained its ownership of the Steelers ever since. Needless to say, Pittsburgh’s season-opener will provide a sentimental homecoming for Rooney.
“The opportunity for the Pittsburgh Steelers to play in Ireland is truly special, not only because of the Rooney family history there, but also to play in front of the growing number of Steelers fans in Ireland,” Rooney continued. “We are thrilled to be part of this historic event to represent Pittsburgh in a game that brings the NFL to the great sports fans in Ireland.”
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The Steelers played their last international game in 2013 against the Minnesota Vikings at Wembley Stadium in London.
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