Steelers Chair Emeritus and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney “expressed interest this week in bringing an NFL regular-season game -- and the Steelers -- to the Emerald Isle,” according to Dan Stefano of the PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW. Rooney, in an interview with BBC Northern Ireland Sports, said that he has “discussed the prospect” with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. Rooney said, “Sometime soon it would be good, and I think the commissioner would be interested in working something out. I’d like to see the Steelers involved, and if it could be worked out by the league, we would enjoy doing it.” Rooney added that he could envision the event happening “at Dublin’s Croke Park, an 82,500-seat venue that an NFL delegation visited last year.” He said, “(The International Series) has proven very, very successful. In fact, that game sells out almost as soon as they put the tickets up” (PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, 6/21).
LUCK OF THE IRISH? The BBC's Haydn Parry noted, "With the NFL now considering a second fixture overseas, Dublin is emerging as a prime candidate." The Rooney family can "trace their roots back to Newry, County Down." Parry wrote, "It's hard to think of a stronger candidate to lobby for bringing a regular season NFL game to Ireland." Rooney said, "We've talked about it. This year, with the Olympics in London, it just wouldn't be the year to do it. But I think sometime very soon it will happen and I think the commissioner is interested in working something out and, sure, I'd like to see the Steelers involved." When asked if Croke Park would meet the league's criteria, NFL CMO Mark Waller said, "We need stadiums that have availability in the middle of our season and the soccer season. We also need them to be large, able to take the levels of hospitality and corporate entertainment that we generate." He added, "Now we're looking seriously at playing two games internationally and, as we do that, Ireland and this venue in particular are very attractive to us" (BBC.co.uk, 6/20).
