EAST PEORIA, Ill. – To say parts of East Peoria could be busy all year long this year is close to being an understatement.
East Peoria tourism director Kory Brown tells local leaders this week between the EastSide Centre, the new Levee Park, and even business parking lots hosting car shows, you won’t have trouble finding something to do this year – especially in one of those venues.
“Up at EastSide at the sports complex, there’s zero open weekends – indoors or outdoors – April through July, and twelve open weekends total for the year,” said Brown. “We’re booked 40 out of 52 (weekends). If you include Festival of Lights, it’s moreso 45 out of 52, with all the things that we do.”
Brown says several new baseball, softball, and soccer tournaments are either confirmed or will soon be at the EastSide Centre, and because of the construction of Levee Park, some car shows will now be in the parking lot of Bass Pro Shops.
Brown says none of that would be possible without the business community.
“We appreciate all of our hotels and everyone here in the city. We’re trying to give you as much business as we can,” said Brown. “Kind of my motto since taking over is ‘If we get you here, I don’t think we’re going to lose you. So, we try to pride ourselves on customer service, and making your event work – whether it’s the Duck Race, or a rock show, or a soccer tournament. We think we can do a little bit of everything.”
The vast majority events at EastSide Centre are athletic contests – mostly softball and baseball tournaments, but also some soccer tournaments and other events. Some of the events are being co-hosted by the Louisville Slugger complex in Peoria. JD Dalfanso, CEO of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, “Discover Peoria,” says that might be considered a “home run” of tourism for the area.
“Having them be able to have not just great tournaments, but the willingness to work so well together to bring business to both facilities, seeing the larger scope for what it bring to sports tourism, that’s the blessing we have when we have facilities like that working together – to bring more businesses and larger business – to work well,” said Dalfanso.
Dalfanso says “sports tourism” is becoming bigger and bigger in the Peoria area.
“It’s an emphasis to where sports has evolved over, particularly, the last decade,” said Dalfanso. “There’s a lot of travel baseball, softball, volleyball – you name it. You may have one athlete on the team; but they come with two, three, parents, siblings, maybe some grandparents that come for the weekend as well. They’re staying two, three, four nights in our hotels. While they’re here, they still have to eat, and they want to explore the assets that we have as well.”
Dalfanso says that, and both venues’ abilities to make upgrades when needed – which EastSide is doing now – speaks volumes.
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