Civic Center has record year

BENTON — A record number of people attended events at the Benton Civic Center in 2015, according to Rick Knight, chairman of the Benton Civic Center Authority.
Knight presented his annual report — per statute — to the Benton City Council on Monday night.
"We drive our attendance numbers off Ticketleap. We had an estimated attendance of 18,400 this past year, which is a big number coming in and out of there." Knight added ticket sales have come from as far as California, although the majority of patrons come from the four states of Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana.
"It's been a very successful year, the best year the Civic Center has ever had," Knight said.
Knight said there were 57 events held at the Civic Center during 2015; and the facility was used 160 days.
"That's a great number if you divide 365 days a year. That's pretty well every weekend that something is going on there," Knight said.
"It's kind of quiet in January. We like that because we take a lot of time to be fixing. January is not a good time to be selling tickets, but we start up this weekend with a big crowd for Brat Pack, out of Springfield, here Saturday night."
Knight announced Sammy Kershaw will be at the Civic Center on March 12 and the U.S. Army Band and Chorus will be here for a Veterans celebration on March 26. Knight anticipates over 1,000 people in attendance for the free concert.
The Civic Center draws income from building rentals, including parties, weddings, corporation gatherings, etc., and the catering service it now provides.
"From the first event we had in June, the Franklin County Republican dinner, we made a little over $20,000 from catering. There are expenses that come out of that, so we didn't pocket $20,000," Knight pointed out. "People are bragging on our catering opportunities."
The Authority also manages the Kiwanis Hall through an intergovernmental agreement with the Park Board.
The City of Benton and the Park Board joined forces in 1989 to purchase the property from the Church of God International. The day-to-day operation of the Civic Center is operated by General Manager Bill King and is governed by the Authority Board.
"We're building the Civic Center to be a regional facility. A lot of businesses around are taking notice of it," Knight said, noting the Southern Illinois Professional Management group will facilitate a meeting in between the concert dates.
Knight concluded the Authority's largest obstacle long term is replacing a leaky roof.
"We've had a lot of leaking and patching it the best we can," Knight said, noting the company that installed the roof has filed bankruptcy.
"We'll continue to move forward in making the Civic Center a good venue for Benton, Franklin County and Southern Illinois."