Even though it’s officially the off season for Rivermen hockey and Bradley basketball, there’s still a lot of action this summer at the Peoria Civic Center.
After obtaining funding from the City of Peoria and the state, the event venue is undergoing an expansive list of upgrades. In total, $45 million of them.
On a Tuesday afternoon, the parking lot is filled with trucks from various construction companies and contractors. Inside, teams toil over concession stands, carpeting, refurbished bathrooms and a colossal new scoreboard.
Director of Sales and Marketing Beau Sutherland said it’s the largest set of improvements to the building since a $50 million revitalization project in 2007.
“We’re along the same lines as the planning, the process, the time it took to do the revitalization in ‘07,” he said. “It’s similar to what we’re going through now, with all the capital improvement projects that are happening.”
Sutherland said the totality of the $45 has been allocated and accounted for. Some behind-the-scenes projects have included improvements to boilers, air handlers and the venue’s roof.
Though it’s not actively under construction right now, Sutherland assures hockey fans that a replacement to the facility's aging ice plant is still on the list.
“There’s quite a bit of down time with the ice plant,” he said. “The scheduling of that is tricky, just around the events, because, you know, what we’ve been told is it takes up to 120 days. Hopefully it doesn’t take that long. But you always prepare for that kind of downtime to get the project done and maybe even a little bit more.”
There's still no more specific timeline on when the Civic Center will carve out the time to get the new plant installed.
The ice plant became a public point of discussion early last year when as the city council considered issuing the $20 million in funding in the first place. At a March 2023 council meeting, council member Sid Ruckriegel described the device as “limping along.”
Since then, the Peoria Civic Center Authority and the Rivermen have extended their contract through the SPHL’s 2024-25 season.
Sutherland said they are prepared to play this fall’s season on with the current ice plant.
Above the ice, fans entering the arena this fall will see a noticeably larger scoreboard than before. Sutherland said the behemoth screens required the installation of additional steel supports in the arena ceiling to support it.
“I think it’s going to hype everybody up during those events,” he said. “Particularly the Rivermen hockey and Bradley basketball when fans are coming down to cheer on those teams.”
Another electronic touch: new LED boards encircling the arena.
Just outside the arena itself, Sutherland says the concession stand has been moved closer to the main entrance. In combination with new “grab and go” options [already packaged foods that fans can pay for without waiting in line to order], he expects the changes to mean less waiting, fewer lines and easier access to the stand.
Though the ice plant, and a large glass arcade, are still projects on the horizon, Sutherland expects people to notice these other improvements the next time they’re at the Civic Center.
“Some of that stuff that we can show off to the public now is close to being finished,” he said. “That’s something that we certainly wanted to take advantage of.”
Marketing Manager Kelsy Martin said the first event in the Civic Center arena, with all the new upgrades on display, is the Sep. 25, 2025 concert with the bands Foreigner and Loverboy.
“Obviously for concerts we don’t incorporate the scoreboard that much,” she said. “But I think people will get a good sneak peek and that way, maybe it’ll entice them to come back for a game later this season and see it in action.”
