PEORIA, Ill. – Gamers of the world will converge on Peoria next year.
City and state leaders announced the “Future Play in Peoria” festival next year, scheduled for September 18-20 at the Peoria Civic Center.
The festival promises to be an expo of the latest in technology, video games, and entertainment over its three days. The feature event will be the National Collegiate Esports Showdown, where the finals of a 512 team tournament will take place at the Civic Center in Rocket League. Another top event will be a two-day exhibition by the Global Gaming League, which is owned by celebrities such as T-Pain, Shaquille O’Neal, and Howie Mandel.
Other events planned for the festival include live music, celebrity gaming exhibitions, retro arcade gaming, cosplayers, racing, and a creator studio.
The festival is being produced by Cinematic, with Executive Director Dylan Marer saying Peoria’s location and desire to want the festival made it a perfect fit.
“We feel much more welcomed here, and we realized that with the ideal location, and with the forward thinking and support, Peoria was the ideal location and that’s why we chose it,” Marer said.
A $370,000 state grant is helping make the festival possible. Marer says they’ve met with cities across the country, but Peoria caught their eye because of its location in the Midwest and proximity to universities and colleges, as well as support from the state, mayor, and Civic Center.
Marer estimates that around 40,000 people could come to Peoria for the festival. Discover Peoria J.D. Dalfonso says that group will feature a different demographic to the River City that may not have considered visiting before.
“We’ve seen the spend trends, the travel tendencies, of this generation as well, this Gen Z is particularly the bulk of the demographic,” Dalfonso said. “They’re willing to travel, one, spectate, and two, participate in events like this,” Dalfonso said.
Dalfonso says every corner, nook, and cranny of the Civic Center could be used for the festival.
Dalfonso says getting the festival means Peoria can “punch above its weight” and get high-profile events to the region.
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