‘Will It Play In Peoria?’ Peoria Civic Center’s New GM Beau Sutherland Answers

“Will it play in Peoria?”

The Illinois city’s most famous cultural claim dates to the time between the 1920s and ‘50s when touring acts and producers used Peoria audiences as a test of whether something would appeal to mainstream America. The phrase eventually became shorthand for “Will this appeal to ordinary Americans?”

The Midwest city became the bellwether for American entertainment and if you ask Beau Sutherland – the newly appointed GM at Peoria Civic Center – a century later, Peoria remains a solid play.

Appointed by the Peoria Civic Center Authority (PCCA) and Legends Global, Sutherland served as interim general manager since June 1, 2026, and previously held the position of assistant general manager. He began his career at the facility in August 2000 and has held leadership positions in sales, marketing and business development.

The Civic Center, which opened in 1982 to reinvigorate downtown Peoria, is essentially three major venues in one complex.

The arena seats 12,000 and is home to NCAA Div. 1 Bradley University basketball and the SPHL Peoria Rivermen hockey team in addition to hosting concerts, family entertainment and community events. Prairie Home Alliance Theater has a capacity of 2,200 presenting the Ameren Illinois Broadway series in partnership with the American Theatre Guild out of Kansas City, concerts, comedy and arts organizations from the Peoria Symphony Orchestra to local dance companies. The convention center has more than 110,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, plus a 27,000-square-foot ballroom and another 17,000 square feet of meeting rooms.

A native of Peoria, Sutherland brings a deep understanding of the Civic Center’s history, operations, community partnerships and opportunities for future growth, which he recently discussed with Pollstar.

Pollstar: Being there since 2000, was becoming general manager the goal?

Beau Sutherland: It’s unbelievable that when I walk through the doors, I’m just excited to be at the venue. Every day is a different experience, and I really cherish having the opportunity to move up through the different departments over the last two decades. It is really a testament to the opportunities that are presented to us from great leaders. And I’ve had some great leaders over the years that have given me extraordinary opportunities to succeed, and that’s not lost on me, and I carry that with me when I’m working and leading my team.

Pollstar: Tell me about your connections to the city and venue?

Sutherland: I love Peoria. I’m homegrown. I went to school here, grade school, high school. I lived for a short time on the west side of Chicago. Dad worked for Caterpillar, so moved back down to Peoria, and ended up going to Western Illinois University RPTA Recreation Park Tours Administration. I spent the early part of my career in food and beverage, and then got the opportunity through Debbie Ritschel, who had been a longtime director of marketing and then elevated to general manager. Gave me the opportunity to come to the Civic Center back in 2000 as an advertising sales manager. So, it’s been a journey. That’s for sure.

Pollstar: What’s unique about the market?

Sutherland: Geographically we’re in a prime position. We’re in Central Illinois, two to three hours away from four major metro areas within proximity to Chicago, Indy, St. Louis. It gives us a unique opportunity to bring in regional and touring acts in all three of our venues.

Pollstar: How has the Center kept pace?

Sutherland: The investment that the City of Peoria and our authority board has made in this venue. Since 2007, $90 million in capital improvements. We’re just finishing up a two-year campaign of $47 million in capital improvements, so they’re invested in this venue. It’s three venues under one roof and an amazing facility for the size of our city and metro area. There are not a lot of venues like this around the country, especially in cities our size.

Pollstar: Apparently you stay busy?

Sutherland: It’s busy. We hosted 221 events at the convention center last year. And you name it and we’re doing it at the Prairie Home Alliance Theater. It’s definitely the workhorse of the three venues from a live entertainment standpoint. …I think it was 500+ event days last year between the three venues. So, we’re always going.

Pollstar: How impactful is the multi-function programming model on the market?

Sutherland: It’s a driver for the community and businesses – our restaurants, our hotels in and around downtown Peoria and the greater community at large. We have a very diverse schedule of events – and it’s amazing to sit there and see when we’re hosting multiple events at the same time. You may have the symphony going on, then we have a hard rock concert going on in the arena. Seeing that cross traffic come through our pre-function space it’s quite amazing.

Pollstar: You’ve been instrumental in developing strategic partnerships including naming rights partner Prairie Home Alliance and a collaboration with CXT Coffee that resulted in a coffee café at the Civic Center. What’s your overarching goal?

Sutherland: The additive value is enhancing the guest experience. …Those are the types of partnerships that I just love being a part of – seeing what we can bring new to our guests when they’re coming through the doors for events.

Pollstar: How has being part of the Legends Global network benefited the venue?

Sutherland: The network is great. I served as regional marketing director on the ASM side for a year for Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, and then the following year, I switched over to convention centers, and I worked with marketing departments across 21 different venues. It gave me the opportunity whether I was traveling for conferences, or traveling for work, or just personal travel, to stop in at any of these venues. And I always sit there shamelessly. I will steal any idea that I can if I think it’s great, and I will bring it back to my facility. The network is there. You have to leverage it.

Pollstar: You are heavily invested in civic service including the Peoria Riverfront Association, Downtown Advisory Commission, Riverfront Planning Committee, Heart of Illinois United Way, Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Easterseals, St. Jude and the Illinois High School Association. How important is community engagement?

Sutherland: I find no greater joy than some of the community partnerships that we have, just from diving in and getting to know people and what they’re doing and how they’re impacting the community and how the Civic Center can play a role in that.

Pollstar: You helped make 2025 the strongest fiscal year in Peoria Civic Cetner history for convention center performance and overall venue revenue. How did you hit that benchmark?

Sutherland: Our approach to programming is not to put events on in the venue, but programming that makes sense for the event planner, the promoter, the artist, the show. We want to be good partners, and we want everybody to walk away from hosting an event in our facility feeling that it was a win. That’s what keeps people coming back and wanting to work with us. …That’s what’s lead to our success now and we’re just enjoying that and continuing to build those relationships and take advantage of the exposure that it’s gotten us not only locally, regionally, but also nationally.

But it all comes back to the relationships and building those partnerships and structuring the deals so that not only is the venue winning but our partners are winning as well.