AS WE’RE OUTSIDE OF CROKE PARK RIGHT NOW. FIRST TIME I’VE BEEN HERE IN NEARLY THREE DECADES, AND I CAN TELL YOU QUITE A BIT HAS CHANGED SINCE I WAS HERE FOR A STEELERS PRESEASON GAME BACK IN 1997. BUT ONE THING HAS NOT CHANGED. JUST BEHIND ME, YOU’LL NOTICE THIS IS A RESIDENTIAL AREA. IN FACT, IT’S NOT LIKE WHAT YOU WOULD FIND IN AMERICA IF YOU WERE OUTSIDE OF WRIGLEY FIELD OR FENWAY PARK. AND AS FOR THE STADIUM, IT STILL IS A STRUCTURE WHICH CELEBRATES AMATEUR ATHLETICS. NAMED FOR ARCHBISHOP CROKE, IT’S BEEN MORE THAN A DECADE SINCE AMERICAN FOOTBALL WAS PLAYED HERE. THAT’S THE COLLEGE VARIETY. NORMALLY THEY HAVE GAELIC FOOTBALL HERE AND ALSO HURLING. NOW TODAY WE GOT AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK INSIDE THE STADIUM, THE REVERED SITE, WHICH IS NOW BEING MADE OVER FOR THE NFL. WELL, YOU CAN SEE HOW THE IMPRINT OF THEIR PITCH IS QUITE WIDE AND QUITE LONG, AND I THINK IT GOT REAL FOR PEOPLE TODAY WHEN WE SAW THE PAINT GOING ON THE FIELD WITH THE MARKINGS, BECAUSE THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN IN GESTATION FOR QUITE SOME TIME AND A LOT OF TALK, A LOT OF PLANNING WITH THE NFL. BUT WHEN YOU SEE THE LINES GOING DOWN, I THINK PEOPLE CAN REALLY IMAGINE WHAT THEY’RE GOING TO SEE HERE ON SUNDAY. LOTS OF IRISH PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH AMERICAN FOOTBALL THROUGH BROADCASTS, BUT THE FACT THAT IT’S TAKING PLACE HERE IN THE HEART OF DUBLIN, AND IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TAKE OVER THE CITY. YES, IT IS GETTING REAL. THE NFL FOOTBALL IS HERE, BY THE WAY. THE NFL TELLS ME WHEN THE FANS DO COME HERE FROM PITTSBURGH, IT’LL FEEL A LITTLE BIT LIKE PITTSBURGH. YOU HAVE THAT GIANT, TERRIBLE TOWEL AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME, THE STEELER DRUM LINE. AND THOUGH THEY WON’T CONFIRM IT, DON’T BE SURPRISED IF YOU HEAR RENEGADE PLAYING IN THE FOURTH QUARTER. AND BY THE WAY, THE NFL ALSO ANNOUNCING THERE ARE TICKETS REMAINING FOR THIS GAME. SO IF YOU HAPPEN TO BE IN, LET’S SAY, THE NEIGHBORHOOD STOP ON BY, PICK UP A TICKET AND BE A PART OF NFL HISTORY. MUCH MORE ON THE GAME BETWEEN THE STEELERS, STEELERS AND THE VIKINGS COMING UP LATER IN PITTSBURGH’S ACTION SPORTS LIVE IN DUBLIN.
How Croke Park in Dublin is being transformed for a Pittsburgh Steelers game
Ireland’s first NFL regular-season game pits the Steelers against Minnesota Vikings
Updated: 7:01 PM EDT Sep 24, 2025
Croke Park is one of the largest European stadiums. The home of Ireland’s passions — Gaelic football and hurling — will be transformed into the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.A lot of work went into getting the 70,000‑plus-seat venue ready to be the black and gold’s home away from home. Pittsburgh’s Action Sports got an exclusive sneak preview of how the revered site has been remade to host Ireland’s first NFL regular-season game.Watch the video above”You can see how the imprint of our pitch is quite wide and quite long. I think it got real for people today when we saw the paint going on the field with the markings,” said Alan Milton, of the Gaelic Athletic Association. “This project has been in gestation for quite some time, and a lot of talk, a lot of planning with the NFL, but when you see the lines going down, I think people can really imagine what they’re going to see here on Sunday.”Lots of Irish people are familiar with American football through broadcasts, but the fact that it’s taking place here in the heart of Dublin and it has the potential to take over the city — we’re 20 minutes here from the main thoroughfare, so you’ll see a lot of color between now and Sunday. Not just from visiting supporters, but I expect a lot of Irish people will get on board too.”Road To Ireland: See more stories and videos from DublinCroke Park has changed quite a bit since 1997, when the stadium hosted a Steelers-Bears preseason game. But one thing has not changed: Croke is surrounded by a residential area, not unlike Boston’s Fenway Park or Wrigley Field in Chicago. Named for Archbishop Thomas Croke, it’s also a structure that celebrates amateur sports.”We’re trying to tell people that NFL fans are a pretty good time,” said Jennifer McCandie, an event operations manager for the league. “They’re usually in a good mood, they’re here to enjoy the day, they make a whole day of it, they come in all 32 team jerseys, they’re excited to be here, and we’re really grateful that the neighbors are kind of allowing us to move in and take over for two weeks.”When Steelers fans visit the stadium on Sunday, the NFL says it will look and feel like a Pittsburgh home game with signage and the Steelers drumline. They may even hear the Styx song “Renegade” in the fourth quarter.”I do think it’s going to feel like coming home for Steelers fans,” said McCandie.
DUBLIN —
Croke Park is one of the largest European stadiums. The home of Ireland’s passions — Gaelic football and hurling — will be transformed into the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
A lot of work went into getting the 70,000‑plus-seat venue ready to be the black and gold’s home away from home. Pittsburgh’s Action Sports got an exclusive sneak preview of how the revered site has been remade to host Ireland’s first NFL regular-season game.
Watch the video above
“You can see how the imprint of our pitch is quite wide and quite long. I think it got real for people today when we saw the paint going on the field with the markings,” said Alan Milton, of the Gaelic Athletic Association. “This project has been in gestation for quite some time, and a lot of talk, a lot of planning with the NFL, but when you see the lines going down, I think people can really imagine what they’re going to see here on Sunday.
“Lots of Irish people are familiar with American football through broadcasts, but the fact that it’s taking place here in the heart of Dublin and it has the potential to take over the city — we’re 20 minutes here from the main thoroughfare, so you’ll see a lot of color between now and Sunday. Not just from visiting supporters, but I expect a lot of Irish people will get on board too.”
Road To Ireland: See more stories and videos from Dublin
Croke Park has changed quite a bit since 1997, when the stadium hosted a Steelers-Bears preseason game. But one thing has not changed: Croke is surrounded by a residential area, not unlike Boston’s Fenway Park or Wrigley Field in Chicago. Named for Archbishop Thomas Croke, it’s also a structure that celebrates amateur sports.
“We’re trying to tell people that NFL fans are a pretty good time,” said Jennifer McCandie, an event operations manager for the league. “They’re usually in a good mood, they’re here to enjoy the day, they make a whole day of it, they come in all 32 team jerseys, they’re excited to be here, and we’re really grateful that the neighbors are kind of allowing us to move in and take over for two weeks.”
When Steelers fans visit the stadium on Sunday, the NFL says it will look and feel like a Pittsburgh home game with signage and the Steelers drumline. They may even hear the Styx song “Renegade” in the fourth quarter.
“I do think it’s going to feel like coming home for Steelers fans,” said McCandie.