PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria Civic Center made budget, revenue per event has increased, and the return on investment is as big as it’s ever been.
That’s the short version of a report Peoria Civic Center General Manager Rik Edgar gave to the Peoria City Council.
“Fiscal year ’19 was the best year we’d ever had, record year. We’re actually making more per show now,” Edgar told council members Tuesday. “We’re getting smarter about our business, and we’re also learning how to make those shows more profitable for the venue.”
How much more profitable? Edgar says the center is making 293 percent more money per arena concert than they were in the 2012 through 18 fiscal years, and 138 percent more than the 2019 fiscal year.
Edgar gives most of the credit to better diversifying entertainment options.
“We can’t do 50 concerts a year. We have to diversify our product,” said Edgar. “This year, we looked out and we found this new monster truck show that Mattel was getting behind. We also brought the Ultimate Demolition Derby. Another one that was really cool was this Quad Comic Con.”
Edgar says the convention which debuted as the Civic Center was getting going again after the height of COVID-19, doubled its attendance this year, and it’s possible it will go to a two day event next year.
A lot of infrastructure work has been done, with parking lot resurfacing going over budget, offset by roof replacement going under budget.
