DOWNTOWN PITTSBURGH SEEN FROM MARKET SQUARE. | JOSE LUIS STEPHENS – STOCK.ADOBE.COM

Point Park University officials and other local leaders joined Mayor Ed Gainey on Wednesday to talk about why, despite a sometimes negative perception, Downtown’s future looks so bright.

Gainey, Point Park University President Chris Brussalis and City of Pittsburgh Chief Economic Development Officer Kyle Chintalapalli took place in a panel discussion at Point Park in front of those with a stake in Downtown, including business owners and community leaders. Sponsored by Crown Castle, which operates cell phone towers and fiber solutions and is working on implementing wireless infrastructure in Pittsburgh, the forum was moderated by Downtown Neighbors Alliance Executive Director John Valentine.

A key part of the discussion revolved around Point Park’s announcement last week it is developing a new community events center Downtown, which will host athletic competitions and concerts and serve as a training ground for students.

A PROPOSED EVENTS CENTER DOWNTOWN FOR POINT PARK UNIVERSITY | RENDERING COURTESY OF EWINGCOLE

Valentine started off the morning by asking the panel about the benefits this will bring to Downtown.

“I think we have an incredible opportunity before us,” Brussalis said, noting Point Park’s Pioneer Vision 2030 strategic plan is meant to capitalize on the fact that the school is located in the city’s center.

“We are leaning into the fact that we are the Downtown university,” he said. “We believe that downtowns are going to be driven by the creative economy. Downtowns are going to become centers of arts, entertainment, recreational life like it never was before. … Guess what? That just so happens to be our sweet spot.”

The Pittsburgh Playhouse, which opened in 2018 at Point Park, hosted 324 events last year, Brussalis said. “That’s a lot of economic activity, that’s a lot of programming for our community, and that’s what this Downtown community event center can do.”

Brussalis also noted the university had a 10% increase in enrollment when other private and independent colleges and universities are seeing decreases.

“We believe that we can bring, we will bring, another 1,000 people learning, living, working and playing in Downtown Pittsburgh. And after we bring in that 1,000, we’ll have some momentum, we can bring in another 1,000. Who else can do that right now but the university?”

Gainey congratulated Point Park on the increase before lauding the Pittsburgh Police for their work keeping Downtown safe.

“The investment that we put into our bureau and the outcome of us doing what we did Downtown by increasing, tripling, manpower for the police Downtown … all that has created a different scenario than it was when I came into office,” Gainey said. “The crime Downtown is at a low. Homicide in the city is down by 30%.”

Gainey noted you can determine how people see the city by the status of Downtown nightlife, and Pittsburgh is thriving on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings with booked restaurants, packed bars and successful Cultural District shows.

“The fear factor is more perception than it is reality, because Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it’s packed down there,” he says.

He also pointed to the 2026 NFL Draft being held in Pittsburgh as a marker of success and promise for the future.

“That’s another example of an outside agency with a billion-dollar brand saying that we’re going to invest in your city,” he said.

“It also gives us an opportunity to showcase what this city is. We are no longer a steel town city. We are technology-driven city. Period.

“As we continue to reimagine Downtown and the rest of this region, we can show the new picture of who we are as a city and continue to get the investments to flow. And that’s why I’m proud of technology week this week as well, because we’re showing people exactly who we are as a city being driven by our universities.”

EXPlore: Pittsburgh Tech Week is being held Oct. 14-17 organized by Google, Citizens and the City of Pittsburgh.

Brussalis noted that Point Park created the Center for Experiential Narrative Technologies after consulting with Carnegie Mellon University officials who were instrumental in founding the Entertainment Technology Center 26 years ago. Point Park’s center is meant to help students across all disciplines learn how to use technologies to benefit their fields.

“Students across all six of our schools are learning about virtual reality, augmented reality, generative artificial intelligence, drone operations, all these things about technology that they will then be able to apply … So it’s going to equip our students to be able to adapt,” he said.

“We want to be all things arts, entertainment, entertainment technology and media, just like Carnegie Mellon is with robotics … and we think this is an activity that can take place in Downtown.”