A national gaming, entertainment and tech festival is coming to downtown Peoria beginning next year, with organizers expecting to attract tens of thousands of guests.
The Peoria Civic Center will serve as primary venue for the three-day “Future Play In Peoria” event next September, highlighted by the National Collegiate Esports Showdown featuring more than 500 teams from across the country competing for $50,000 in cash and prizes.
“In looking at some of the different cities and talking to some of the different cities, we were introduced to Peoria, and Peoria, Illinois, is an ideal city,” said Dylan Marer, CEO and executive producer for the Los Angeles-based firm Cinematic that is developing the festival.
“It's not just the location, so centrally located in the Midwest with all the states and everything around — there's so many different colleges and universities in the surrounding areas, it was just ideally located. But it was the forward thinking of the city that really attracted us, and the fact that they wanted to be vested in bringing our program here. So, that's why we chose to come to Peoria.”
Marer spoke at a news conference announcing the event Wednesday morning at the Peoria Civic Center’s Lexus Club, joined by Mayor Rita Ali, Discover Peoria President and CEO J.D. Dalfonso, and others involved in securing the event.
“We're a community that embraces new ideas and looks ahead to what's next,” said Ali. “Hosting Future Play in Peoria reflects that same forward-thinking spirit, and shows how Peoria continues to evolve as a destination for the industries and experiences of the future. We can't wait to welcome guests from across the country to our city.”
Dalfonso said the festival ties in with Discover Peoria’s “Doorway to Discovery” campaign to show how residents and visitors alike can take advantage of the region’s attractions and destinations. He said the tourism component of the “Future Play In Peoria” event will provide clear economic benefits.
“When they get here, they interact with our hospitality industry, our restaurants, our hotel partners,” Dalfonso said of those who will come to the event. “When these gamers and these attendees and these fans come in, they got to rest their head somewhere.”
The event is partially funded by a $370,000 award from the Tourism Incentive Grant Program through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity [DCEO].
“Sports tourism is a very powerful industry. Last year across the country, sports tourism generated $128 billion in economic impact, supporting more than 750,000 jobs, and Illinois is proud to be a leader in that growth,” said Catie Sheehan, the state’s deputy director of tourism.
“Peoria will be the perfect stage for this Esports event, giving visitors certainly the best experience they can have in Central Illinois.”
Plans for the expansive festival will include using the entire Civic Center exhibit hall, Riverfront Park, and other parts of downtown Peoria. Along with the gaming competitions, the event will feature additional tech exhibits and an outdoor music festival.
The inaugural Future Play in Peoria is scheduled for Sept. 18-20, 2026. Marer envisions the festival growing in the years to come.
“One thing I can tell you is that gaming, tech, it's all-inclusive. It doesn't matter who you are, how tall, how short, any size, shape, anything. We're excited for how wide of a demographic can enjoy this, from young people to old people, and we're excited to bring this to Peoria,” he said.
“We look forward to the whole community coming together to put Peoria on the map and have a national acknowledged footprint for having the greatest event — make this thing something that grows to be considerable attendance. I see it in five years getting 30, 40, 50,000 people a day, and having 100,000 people over a weekend just for this event.”
