by Emma Dooling | Philadelphia Business Journal

The Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts will debut the massive expansion of its entrance plaza next month, the culmination of a $70 million capital campaign created for the Fairmount Park entertainment venue's 50th anniversary this year.

The eight-month-long project includes the creation of a 42,000-square-foot entrance plaza complete with a new welcome center, bar, gardens and food, beverage and merchandise spaces. One of the largest new features will be a 4,600-square-foot digital LED video wall on the side of the venue's main stage, the TD Pavilion.

Evan Rogers, the venue's vice president and general manager, said the new entryway will create a more communal space for customers. Highmark Mann is also eyeing creating an early arrival program with the added space.

“It’s going be a feature to come here, get a beer, see some beautiful digital murals, enjoy the public gardens. It’s going to be a big change,” Rogers said as he stood in the middle of the plaza on May 21 while construction droned on around him.

When it broke ground on the plaza project in October, the live entertainment venue also announced an expanded sponsorship deal with Highmark Blue Shield, which signed a 12-year agreement for the naming rights to the property. The Pittsburgh-based health insurer had previously inked a deal in January 2024 to rename the venue's Skyline Stage online.

The new 42,000-square-foot entrance plaza will be three times the size of the previous one. Outside of the gates will be another 20,000 square feet of hardscape space and another likely 20,000 square feet of public gardens, according to Rogers. Highmark Mann will also increase the number of gates at the plaza to 14 from 10.

The brutal winter and multiple snowfalls delayed the project by several weeks, Rogers said, and Highmark Mann kicked off its 2026 season despite work not being complete. The venue has been hosting commencement ceremonies and will host artists such as musician Khalid and rock bands Bleachers and Young the Giant prior to the plaza's grand unveiling on June 15.

Highmark Mann has not disclosed the cost of the plaza project. Funding for the overhaul is a part of the venue's $70 million capital campaign launched ahead of its 50th anniversary. Previous phases of that campaign included turning its temporary Skyline Stage into a permanent stage in 2023 and overhauling its backstage area in 2024.

CEO Catherine Cahill said the venue has reached $68.6 million in its capital campaign. In addition to Highmark Blue Shield, donors include the William Penn Foundation, the Goldsmith Foundation and the city, state and federal governments, she said.

The capital improvements include work inside the plaza as well. The building that previously housed eight men's restrooms, eight women's restrooms, the ticketing office and the medical center is now dedicated solely to restrooms, with 16 for men, 37 for women and two gender-neutral, family bathrooms. The ticketing office and medical suite will be moved into a larger welcome center building that will also house a gift shop and Hall of Fame, featuring a Lego version of the Highmark Mann campus on display. A smaller Lego set of the campus will be on sale in the gift shop.

A "high-end, Center City-style" bar sponsored by beer brand Kona Big Wave and decorated with green ceramic tiles and brass finishes will run on one side of the welcome center building. The plaza will also be decorated with gardens and seating at cafe tables, high-top bar tables and Adirondack chairs.

Permanent structures are also being built to house sponsor activations, artist merchandise for sale and food and beverage stations. Those were previously set up in tents, Rogers said.

The updates were designed to give customers a space within the campus to hang out prior to the start of the show. By bringing attendees in earlier, Highmark Mann can lessen the volume of people arriving and going through the gates all at once.

“Why not bring some of the tailgating inside, and actually take pressure off of our gates as well," Rogers said.

The plaza's flashiest addition will be the LED digital wall on the TD Pavilion, set to play a 20-minute loop of cultural and historic videos. Highmark Mann will run a special video on the wall for the nation's 250th anniversary this summer that will document the history of the 1876 World's Fair, also known as the Centennial Exhibition in Fairmount Park where the venue is located.

“Think Times Square without the ads,” Cahill said of the wall.

Called the Satell Centennial Wall East, it is named after Ed Satell, founder and chair of Malvern-based nonprofit the Satell Institute, who made a donation of an undisclosed amount. The wall is currently being installed in 30 different pieces.

Highmark Mann has completed a full study of its infrastructure to plot out what additional work will need to be done over the next 10 to 15 years, such as changing the roof of the TD Pavilion. Cahill said those upgrades will be mostly non-consumer-facing investments.

"Those are the ones that are expensive, and that's by far the hardest money to raise. That's just not sexy," Cahill said.

(via Philadelphia Business Journal)