‘A Testament to Where Pittsburgh is Going’

Pittsburgh inspires the world. Once a gateway to the American West, the region has undergone numerous reinventions – a testament to the can-do spirit of its people. Now at the forefront of a modern age of advancement, Pittsburgh has become a center of science, technology and medicine that draws an international collection of inventive, visionary and revolutionary minds .

Pittsburgh is once again a gateway.

The region needed an airport to meet the needs of its reinvention; it needed an entryway befitting its past, its purpose, its future. The Transformed Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) arrives this fall, and it was Pittsburgh that showed up from across the world to commemorate it.

More than 700 guests gathered Friday to celebrate the Transformed PIT at an event bringing together those who made possible the arrival of Western Pennsylvania’s new gateway — an airport built for Pittsburgh, by Pittsburgh and designed to reflect, connect and serve the Pittsburgh region for decades to come.

The gala marked the quickly approaching conclusion of the region’s most visible and highly anticipated construction project. A bold effort years in the making, the Transformed PIT has become the representation of the innovation and resiliency that have defined Pittsburgh for centuries.

Attendees arrived for the sponsor-funded event to a new PIT terminal decorated with a distinctively “Pittsburgh” tone meant to complement its impressive, regionally inspired design.

Arriving from the recent Steelers’ football game in Ireland, Pittsburgh native, actor and producer Joe Manganiello, kicked off the night’s programming.

“I’ve traveled all over the world, and there is nothing better than feeling that initial descent when flying back home. The rolling green hills, the skyline, the bridges — it takes your breath away. And this terminal: equally breathtaking,” said Manganiello. “It’s our beautiful new front door to the world, and it’s not just new gates and new terminals. It’s an airport built by Pittsburghers, for Pittsburghers. It showcases all the hard work and innovation that we all know is at the heart of Pittsburgh.”

PIT’s transformation began as an idea borne out of the necessity to change. Innovation carried it. Resiliency shaped it. Collaboration built it.

In 2015, PIT CEO Christina Cassotis started laying the groundwork for how the airport could better serve the Pittsburgh region. Since then, PIT has been a pioneer, redefining the role of an airport within the community, the aviation industry and the world.

“This is the airport that Pittsburgh deserves; it’s the new front door to the region but it is so much more than a building,” Cassotis said.

“This new first impression is a game changer for growth and it’s a promise – this is a promise that our best days are ahead, that as we look forward, we see opportunity to amplify the impact of not just what we built, but how we built it, because here in Pittsburgh we’ve inherited a legacy of grit, resilience and innovation, and this new airport is the legacy we leave.”

PIT’s transformation has been greatly supported by its airline partners, which are the primary funders of the new terminal project, a result of the airport’s decade of innovation and redefinition combined with the Pittsburgh region’s economic progress and inclination toward air travel.

“What you are delivering is truly awe inspiring,” said Sean Doyle, CEO of British Airways, who spoke via video. “It’s a great reflection of the innovative, can-do attitude of the people of Western Pennsylvania.”

Jake Loosararian, CEO of Gecko Robotics, said, “I think what this [airport] represents is what the future can be for the city, and that is a reimagination of where we are going instead of walking into the past.”

The graduate of Grove City College founded Gecko Robotics in 2013, establishing the company’s headquarters in Pittsburgh and eventually taking part in PIT’s transformation, with his company’s robots scanning the structural integrity of the steel tree columns of the airport’s new terminal during construction.

“And I’m just so thankful to be a part of something that I believe is a bridge to where we’re going as a city.”

PIT has been transformed to provide the region with opportunity — the fulfillment of a promise the airport made almost a decade prior to modernize itself to become the airport Pittsburgh earned.

“This airport, it isn’t just transportation infrastructure, it is opportunity infrastructure,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “Every gate connects a local entrepreneur to global markets. Every runway launches not just planes, but careers.”

“Every innovation represented here,” Innamorato said, “shows the world that Pittsburgh doesn’t just adapt to the future, we create it.”

Innamorato noted that PIT is the region’s front door, its gateway to the world and its path to economic growth.

“As you look around this room tonight,” said Rich Fitzgerald, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and former Allegheny County Executive, “you see labor leaders, business executives, entrepreneurs, public servants — a cross section of what Pittsburgh is — who are very proud of what we do. They’re all united in a common belief that Pittsburgh’s best days are ahead of us, and we’re building that right here, right now. This new terminal tells every company, every visitor, every young person with a dream: Pittsburgh is designing for the future.”

Pittsburgh Steelers in attendance included All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward and former quarterback and Pittsburgh native Charlie Batch. Both are well known as local community servants, with each having established a charitable foundation to support Pittsburgh youth.

“This airport is something that this community should be proud of and sets the example for what it means to be part of a community and give back,” said Heyward.

“This transformed airport shows the world why Pittsburgh is special. It reflects what a community can accomplish when they approach a challenge with vision,” said Batch. “This new PIT was powered by Pittsburgh pride and is shining with a pioneering vision that strengthens our entire community.”

“It has been an arduous journey to get to this finish point, and I want to thank all of the airport team that put their hearts and souls into creating this terminal,” said David Minnotte, Allegheny County Airport Authority board chairman.

“I would also like to thank our truly visionary leader, Christina Cassotis, who originated this project almost a decade ago. Christina understood at that time that great success often demands setting audacious goals like the building of this terminal. Christina’s leadership, vision and tenacity over the last decade made us a global aviation leader, and this airport is actually a model for the industry.”

The gala event featured local chefs and musical entertainment, including DJ Bonics, Cello Fury, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Pittsburgh native Jeff Goldblum with his Mildred Snitzer Orchestra. Goldblum also joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra for a surprise performance to conclude the dinner program.
Beyond steel, glass and concrete, the Transformed PIT is the representation of a community driven toward reinvention and the pursuit of a better future worthy of its storied and dynamic past.

“You’ve helped us get to here. We want to help you — it’s our turn — because there’s a lot of opportunity to take these partnerships and this momentum forward; to stop looking in the rearview mirror and to stop worrying about what we don’t have and focus on what we do have, because this is us, what we do with it is what matters,” Cassotis told attendees.

“Pittsburgh is a city of champions, and it is time we change the way we champion Pittsburgh.”