PEORIA – A local home improvement collective will pay at least $405,000 for the naming rights to the Peoria Civic Center’s theater.
If both sides are happy with the deal, after the initial five-year term is up, Prairie Home Alliance will pay an additional $180,000 over two years, according to documents received late Thursday night as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request.
In all, the civic center could see $585,000 come to its coffers over the seven-year period. The pact is set for approval by the Peoria Civic Center Authority Board at their Jan. 30 meeting.
Two weeks ago, the Prairie Home Alliance Theater deal which the civic center hopes will give the 2,000-seat theater a new “identity,” was unveiled. It was announced that the Tazewell County-based home improvement company purchased the rights for seven years. Details however, weren’t released.
On Jan. 10, when reached by email, a civic center spokeswoman said “We are not disclosing any financial information regarding the deal,” which prompted the FOIA request by WMBD-TV.
The 26-page agreement, obtained after the civic center asked for a five-day extension, details the fine points of the sponsorship. Among the highlights are:
- Prairie Home Alliance will pay $45,000 right off the bat and then $45,000 in its first year, in six monthly payments.
- In years two through five, Prairie Home Alliance will pay $90,000 a year over eight months.
- In years six and seven, the pact automatically renews for the same $90,000 a year if both sides are agreeable. If not, notice must be given within 60 days, a fairly standard measure.
- Prairie Home Alliance will be the “exclusive manufacturer, dealer, distributor, or service provider of home improvement products and services,” meaning the company is the sole provider of most improves on the property.
Prairie Home Alliance could also get naming rights for a “Balcony One Premium Lounge” if the civic center opted to build it. The company will also get six tickets for a theater box, the deal states.
It’s the first time the civic center’s theater has been called anything other than a theater.
The Peoria Civic Center first opened in 1982 and for years as been known simply as that. The arena where the Peoria Rivermen and the Bradley Braves play is known as Carver Arena, named for the former mayor, Richard Carver, who was instrumental in getting the facility built.
Some naming rights have been sold over the years. The box office is known as the Toyota Box Office while a reception room above the main lobby is known as the Lexus Club. Terms of those longer-running naming rights are not known.
Also in the naming rights pact are what type of adverting the company will get within the building. According to the deal, Prairie Home Alliance is to have 30-second “takeover” of the LED board that rings Carver Arena during Peoria Rivermen hockey games and also during Bradley Braves basketball games as well as family shows.
They are to get one 15-second spot on the Great Hall’s video board that is to rotate with other items and one 30-second commercial spot on the Carver Arena scoreboard during Braves and Rivermen games.
WMBD TV can be reached at [email protected].
