Pittsburgh Getting New Concert Venue As Part of $1B Investment

PENNSYLVANIA — Eighteen new concert venues across the country are being launched as part of a $1 billion concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment initiative.

Two will be in Pennsylvania.

According to Oxford Economics, the Live Nation investment will spur $2.9 billion in total economic impact, including spending on engineering, development, and construction, along with $1.4 billion in annual economic impact for local communities.

“Our mission is simple: help artists deliver more unforgettable live experiences – and in doing so, create jobs, revive cities, and lift up the communities we touch,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement.

“As an American company, we drive impact here at home while also helping elevate and export the very best of what this nation represents: freedom, creativity, grit, and boundless possibility.”

In the next 18 months, Live Nation Entertainment will open doors or break ground on 18 new venues ranging from intimate clubs to large outdoor amphitheaters in communities including:

• Allentown, PA
• Atlanta, GA
• Birmingham, AL
• Denver, CO
• Indianapolis, IN
• Memphis, TN
• Milwaukee, WI
• Nashville, TN
• Orlando, FL
• Portland, ME
• Portland, OR
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Raleigh, NC
• Richmond, VA
• Riverside, MO
• Seattle, WA
• Shakopee, MN
• Virginia Beach, VA

In Pittsburgh, the venue will be Citizens Live at the Wylie, a 4,000-seat venue being built on a portion of the old Civic Arena site.

Marimba Milliones, executive director of Pittsburgh's Hill Community Development Corporation headquartered near the site, said this about the project: “Live Nation not only worked in partnership with the CDC and the developer review panel, but they demonstrated the level of respect for the history that this site demands.”

The Allentown space will have 1,600 seats and is expected to hots more than 200 shows per year.