U.S. Cellular Coliseum, Bloomington, Ill,welcomed a new management company April 1.
The City of Bloomington, Ill., has awarded management of the U.S. Cellular Coliseum to VenuWorks, which assumed its responsibilities on April 1 to begin a five-year contract.
“I have a great amount of respect for the previous management for having built the market up and one they sustained,” said Steve Peters, VenuWorks’ president. “We want to add to that and look forward to bringing in more shows and events. We also want to be a good working partner with the hockey and football teams that play in the coliseum.”
U.S. Cellular Coliseum will be seeing a new title sponsor in a few months.
The 10-year-old arena can seat up to 8,000 for concerts and was previously managed by Central Illinois Arena Management, whose contract expired April 1. Both Peters and Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner said that the new contract happened very quickly. VenuWorks will operate under a 90-day transitional agreement while the five-year contract is finalized with the city.
“It went very fast,” Peters said. “They were negotiating with their previous management group up until about three weeks ago. The negotiations broke off and they reached out to various management companies.
“Usually you are writing a proposal and document before you make a presentation but that process was rolled into one, which was fine. It just shortened it up. We were voted on Monday night (March 28) by the city council to take us on and we started on Friday (April 1).”
“We needed someone who could come in not just to run our coliseum and its operations, but basically someone who could do it almost immediately,” Renner said. “VenuWorks certainly has a very good reputation and they were one of a few groups we brought in. The choice was unanimous. You could feel the energy they had. It was a breath of fresh air."
“We have been working with them now for about a couple of weeks. They were onsite almost immediately to begin to make the transition. Again, dealing with Steve and his team is just a total breath of fresh air.”
Renner said that he spoke with his mayoral counterpart in Racine, Wis., John Dickert, where VenuWorks manages the Racine Civic Centre. That conversation convinced the leaders in Bloomington that VenuWorks was the right fit for the facility and the community.
“Mayor Dickert spoke very highly of them and said they were invaluable,” Renner said. “Other mayors in cities where they manage venues were also affirming. People had terrific things to say about them.”
VenuWorks will be responsible for all operations of the coliseum including staffing, booking, food and beverage, ticketing, sales and marketing. Peters said that he expects to name a general manager for the facility by April 15, and added that one of the first targets is to locate a new naming rights sponsor.
“The U.S. Cellular naming sponsorship just ended,” Peters said. “We are keeping the name at this time because that’s what everybody knows it as. We are glad to extend U.S. Cellular for a while. We don’t want to change the name twice. We hope to have a new naming rights partner in the near future, and it would not make any sense to change it for a couple of months and then have to change it again.”
Bloomington City Manager David Hales was also extensively involved in the new partnership and said that VenuWorks is not only a good niche fit, but one that should take the coliseum to a new level of success.
“VenuWorks has a proven track record of success managing venues of similar size and scope, and I am confident they will be a great community partner,” Hales said. “They share our vision that the coliseum should be among the most successful arenas in the Midwest secondary market.”
Renner cited an example where VenuWorks can help in a way the previous management could not.
“If they have somebody coming through such as Kenny Chesney going to their buildings in Dayton and Evansville, and then they come here and then go to Racine … there are any number of possibilities that we haven’t been able to take full advantage of in the past.”
Renner added that a proposed $53-million hotel and conference center located nearby will benefit the performance of the coliseum, just as the coliseum will help the new structures.
“Right now we have a big underperforming block that is part of our downtown revitalization,” Renner said. “The synergies between that and our downtown are something we’re looking forward to.”
But right now is also a time when there is genuine excitement about having the clout and resources of VenuWorks in place to manage the coliseum.
“VenuWorks is an extremely progressive, innovative company in identifying and capitalizing on new trends in the entertainment and food and beverage markets,” Hales said. “They have a core team of experts at its corporate office that can support local staff.”
Most of all, everyone wants the U.S. Cellular Coliseum to be a place where guests and talent both come and want to come back.
“All of the suggestions they have had for helping to spruce up the coliseum have been fantastic,” Renner said. “There are some long corridors that still have some cinder block walls, and they were quick to say that this is just not acceptable.
“We want to make this a facility where people feel comfortable. From the moment people park, to ticketing, to food and their whole experience, we want them to feel welcome and that they have a great, positive experience and want to come back.
“This kind of leadership is long overdue here.”
Interviewed for this article: David Hales, (309) 434-2210; Steve Peters, (888) 232-5151; Tari Renner, (309) 310-5708