The nearly 1,000-pound Future of Pittsburgh Ball was tested Tuesday and is ready to rise on New Year’s.
Mounted on an 80-foot-tall pole atop Penn Avenue Place in Downtown Pittsburgh, the illuminated sphere will rise Wednesday night as the city rings in the new year during the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Highmark First Night Pittsburgh.
“We’re confident that the sequences that we will have displayed tomorrow evening will be a hit and will hopefully add to everyone’s experience,” said Rob Long, director for Pittsburgh-based Clear Story, which refurbished the ball in 2024. “At midnight (Wednesday) we can make it do more exciting things and display numerals, text and animations.”
Long said the upgraded ball is more energy efficient, with brighter, more dynamic colors. New technology also allows the lights to form the numerals of the year — 2026 — a feature that wasn’t possible in the past.
Each year, Long and his team make subtle adjustments to the display so no two celebrations look the same. The timing and frequency of the animations change constantly, he said.
The ball operates on a computerized digital control system housed inside Penn Avenue Place. Mapping software is used to program the various lighting sequences.
While the structural framework remains original — a welded aluminum frame that Long said is still in good condition — it required only cleaning. The lighting, electronics and polycarbonate outer skin, however, are all new.
The ball was created by Ray Appleby, owner of Pittsburgh-based Technique Architectural Products, to ring in 2007. Appleby said it took about three months to build the original five-foot-diameter sphere, whose frame is made from recycled steel and aluminum.
While the exterior structure remained sound, the lighting system needed a facelift.
Highmark made the investment. Officials declined to disclose the amount.
This will be the second First Night for Brooke Horejsi, chief programming and engagement officer for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. She said she was unsure how turnout would be last year, but people showed up despite the rainy weather.
This year’s forecast calls for dry but cold conditions, with temperatures expected to dip into the 20s.
“It was so joyous to see people of all ages in Downtown Pittsburgh for last year’s First Night, many who stayed until midnight,” Horejsi said. “Here in Pittsburgh, we don’t drop the ball. We raise it.”
The rising of the ball symbolizes hope and optimism, said Kenya T. Boswell, president of the Highmark Foundation. She said Highmark invested in refurbishing the ball as part of its long-term commitment to sponsoring the event and preserving the tradition of the ball drop.
As the ball ascends during the countdown to midnight, a fireworks display will light up the sky behind it.
Details:TrustArts.org/FirstNightPGH