Live Nation sets the stage for new concert venue in Pittsburgh's Lower Hill

Live Nation is turning up the volume in Pittsburgh.

The global entertainment giant broke ground Thursday on its new concert venue, Citizens Live at the Wylie, set to energize the Lower Hill District.

Community leaders, elected officials and representatives of Citizens Financial Group, Live Nation and the Pittsburgh Penguins gathered to celebrate the construction of the newly-named venue.

The project will be a 4,000-person-capacity, 98,500-square-foot space that can accommodate a variety of show sizes, both seated and standing. Tom Loudermilk, the Pittsburgh market president at Live Nation, said that the company hopes it will host between 80 and 110 events per year.

Those events could range from music concerts to comedy shows to speaker series and beyond.

“We’re standing across the street from what’s going to be the future site of Citizens Live at the Wylie, its name a testament to the historic Wylie Avenue that flows through the district,” Loudermilk remarked at the ceremony on Thursday.

Many of the speakers, including Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, remarked on the historic arts scene of the Hill District and the legacy that the new venue inherits.

Live Nation estimates that the new space will open its doors in late 2026.

Bruce Van Saun, chairman and CEO of Citizens, was also present for the ceremony.

“We’re thrilled to announce our support of Citizens Live at the Wylie, a state-of-the-art music venue that will honor this community’s past while investing in its future,” he said.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Fenway Sports Group are also partnering on the project, as part of the Lower Hill’s wider revitalization.

Staffing the new venue will create over 300 new jobs, all with a base pay of $20 an hour, according to Live Nation. The building will also contain a retail space containing Black-owned and local businesses.

“The economic impact of this project is going to be huge, not just for the Hill District and the City of Pittsburgh, but for our entire region.,” said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis.

Marimba Milliones, the CEO of the Hill Community Development Corporation, spoke about the process that the Corporation’s Development Review Panel went through with Live Nation to make this project a reality. “Live Nation not only worked in partnership with the Hill CDC and the Development Review Panel but they demonstrated the level of respect for the history that this site demands.”

Live Nation said that art from local visual artists will be prominently displayed inside the venue. In addition, a $2 surcharge from every ticket sold will go to the Greater Hill District Neighborhood Reinvestment Fund.