PEORIA Ill. – More than five years and $45 million of renovations are complete at the Peoria Civic Center.
Wednesday afternoon, representatives of the center unveiled a brand new scoreboard – new seats and electronic screens – and a variety of exciting new concession stand choices, among other things.
New food options include “The Slippery Pig”, a BBQ option – “Cantina Rio” Mexican cuisine – and even specials from Avanti’s.
The center’s Director of Food and Beverage, Gregory Wilson, says these new food options are unique to Peoria.
“The two stands I think are the most unique are the Slippery Pig, which you can’t get anywhere else in the country, it’s unique to us. Then we have Cantina Rio, which is our Mexican store, Mexican stand, also very unique,” Gregory Wilson said.
Kelsy Martin is the Civic Center’s marketing manager — and says these improvements are something you have to see in-person.
“It just makes a whole new, exciting feeling when you’re gonna sit in your seat for a game and cheer on the Rivermen or Bradley basketball. To see everything lit up, the sound system was new at the end of 2023 as well — plus you can grab a great snack and be ready for game-time,” Kelsy Martin said.
Rik Edgar, the center’s General Manager, says these improvements have been in the works since 2019 — and have cost around 45-million dollars in grants from the City of Peoria and the State of Illinois.
Out of all of the renovations, he says he’s arguably most excited for the new scoreboard…
“We’ve had a nice scoreboard in past but this is a major upgrade. It is state-of-the-art and folks will be blown away and while I can tell you all about it, you gotta come see it in-person to really understand what we are talking about,” Rik Edgar said.
Renovations will be on full display next Wednesday, at the “Foreigner” concert.
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