Steelers Could Give Up Home Game to Play in Mexico

The heart of Steeler Nation beats in every corner of the globe. But outside of native Pittsburgh, Mexico may be the largest hub for international fans of the Black and Gold. Those supporters could be rewarded with a Steelers game in the near future, with the franchise announcing it may take a home game south of the border sometime within the next three seasons.

“There will be a game in Mexico for the next three years, so…we’ve kind of raised our hand for that one, and hopefully we’ll get selected one of these years,” enthused Steelers owner, Art Rooney.

In the past, the NFL has operated under an unofficial rule that the glamour franchises of the league – namely, the Steelers, Cowboys, Patriots and Packers – would never be strongarmed into giving up a home game to play on foreign soil, because of how financially lucrative those home games are for their respective cities and for the league.

The Steelers have played one game in England – a 2013 regular season affair against the Vikings – but that clash was technically Minnesota’s home game. This time around, Pittsburgh appears to be willingly putting its hand up.

On top of wanting to satisfy and reward a huge fanbase outside of the United States, the Steelers have tied their commitment to Mexico to the possibility of hosting a Super Bowl.

Recently, the quickest way to score hosting rights to the biggest championship game in the world has been through building a shiny new stadium. San Francisco’s Levis Stadium earned that right just last year, while the typically frigid Minnesota will host Super Bowl LII in a state-of-the-art indoor facility.

The Steelers won’t be afforded that luxury, as their stadium is a little over a decade old. Pittsburgh will settle for playing fair with the NFL’s international expansion initiative instead.

“We only have a handful of teams that don’t mind giving up a home game, and we are the ones kind of in the mix,” Rooney said. “That is definitely a challenge. It is a challenge for us. We would like to play in some of these games, but we are not anxious to give up a home game. Maybe some year, we may have to do it once.”