Pittsburgh City Council approves millions in grants for the NFL Draft, parks, and youth baseball fields

This Week’s Top Agenda Items

• Pittsburgh may break even on the Draft with officials betting on the long game
• University of Pittsburgh joins push to fund city projects with $5M grant
• Pirates charity and Laborers Union team up to upgrade 20 youth baseball fields

Pittsburgh may break even on the Draft with officials betting on the long game 🔗

 Pittsburgh is looking for a pass to offset the cost of hosting the NFL Draft.

Council voted during its April 20 committee meeting to move forward with a $2 million grant from VisitPittsburgh. Acting Budget Director Rea Price said the money can only be used to reimburse approved expenses such as overtime for police officers and public works crews. Price said that the current estimate for overtime is approximately $1.8 million.

VisitPittsburgh has been responsible for organizing services and venues for the Draft. As part of its agreement with the city and county, both must route their services through the nonprofit tourism organization.

In 2024, the city agreed to provide $1 million toward expected expenses, split across three years. Council Member Deb Gross of Highland Park noted, however, that little of the expected revenue will go to the city itself. The city will only receive money from its parking tax while the county will take in hotel and liquor taxes. The county is distributing part of its share to VisitPittsburgh, the convention center and the Port Authority. Sales tax revenue generated by the event is dedicated for City and county parks, regional assets such as the zoo, and smaller municipalities.

Finance Director Jennifer Gula said the city might break even for event expenses. “I think something like this tends to have a longer-term impact than the actual something that happens over the course of four days. If it brings attention to the city, and we show them that we could put on a good party, it may end up translating later to some other events.” 

University of Pittsburgh joins push to fund city projects with $5M grant 🔗 

The University of Pittsburgh has joined the growing list of large nonprofits making payments in lieu of taxes to the city.

At its April 20 committee meeting, council voted to accept a $5 million grant, spread out over five years, from Pitt. The money is intended for parks capital improvements, URA Main Street Programs and public safety facilities, among others at the city’s discretion. 

The proposed spending for the money will be in the city’s capital budget for council’s approval, Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said. “We certainly want to be fully transparent with council and with the public on where these dollars go going forward,” he said. 

Rea Price, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the money will sit in a grants trust fund until the city distributes it.

Council Member Erika Strassburger of Squirrel Hill North asked the administration to provide additional reports on how the money is spent in light of recent concerns about the city’s trust funds. “There is public scrutiny of funding that we’re receiving, and it would be helpful to get further clarity,” she said.

Pirates charities and Laborers Union team up to upgrade 20 youth baseball fields 🔗 🔗

Pittsburgh’s youth baseball and softball teams may soon stop being benched by heavy rain.

The Pirates Charities’ Fields for Kids Program issued a $300,000 grant for improvements to approximately 20 city-owned fields. 

Chief of Staff Dan Gilman said during the April 20 committee meeting that the grant funds will cover, among other things, the same crushed red brick infield material used at PNC Park and laser grading to help mitigate drainage problems that prevent play.

The Pirates will also purchase a new laser grader for the city. Gilman said the additional equipment will allow for two crews to regularly maintain fields.

Council Member Khari Mosley of Point Breeze North, who also coaches youth baseball, said he hopes that the city can continue to work with the Pirates. “Baseball is just so important to the fabric of this city,” he said. “I think it would be important to make that investment, not just for the sake of baseball, but for the sake of young people.”

At the same meeting, council also voted to move forward with a $300,000 donation from the Laborer’s District Council to purchase and install scoreboards at 10 fields.

According to Gilman, the city is still finalizing the list of fields for the new scoreboards and other improvements.