Peoria Civic Center

"Carver Arena" redirects here. For the arena at the University of Iowa, see Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Peoria Civic Center
Location	201 Southwest Jefferson Avenue Peoria, IL 61602-1423 USA
Coordinates	40°41′33″N 89°35′39″W
Broke ground	1979
Opened	June 6, 1982
Owner	Peoria Convention Center Authority
Operator	SMG
Construction cost	$64 million ($152 million in 2013 dollars)
Architect	Philip Johnson
Capacity	Ice hockey:10,129 Basketball:11,164 Concerts:12,145
Tenants
Bradley Braves (NCAA Division I) (Men's Basketball) Peoria Rivermen (SPHL) (2013–present) Peoria Pirates (AF2) (2008–2009)

Peoria Civic Center is a convention center located next to Peoria City Hall in downtown Peoria, Illinois, United States. It has an arena, a theater, an exhibit hall, and meeting rooms. It was built in 1982 and completed an expansion to expand its lobby and meeting facilities in 2008.

Carver Arena

Carver Arena is the home of the Bradley University Braves men's basketball team and the Peoria Rivermen Southern Professional Hockey League ice hockey team, and was formerly home to the Peoria Pirates arena football team. Prior to playing at Carver Arena, Bradley hosted its games at Robertson Memorial Field House. It hosted the 1988 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament title game. It seats 10,129 for hockey and indoor football, 11,164 for basketball and up to 12,145 for concerts.

Carver Arena also plays host to the Illinois High School Association boys' basketball state finals for two weeks every March. The interactive March Madness Experience takes places in the adjacent exhibition hall during the tournaments. Concerts, circuses, trade shows (an arena floor 124 feet (38 m) by 238 feet (73 m) for 29,512 square feet (2,741.8 m²) of space), wrestling matches and other events are held here. The arena also contains a 60-by-40-foot portable stage, a production office, eight dressing rooms (four large and four small), eight spotlights, and a 76-foot (23 m) ceiling height. There is also an arena club at Carver Arena, eight concession stands, eight restrooms, and two luxury suites. It hosted the first CollegeInsider.com Tournament where the Braves lost to Old Dominion in the finals.

Exhibit hall

The Civic Center features 63,668 square feet (5,915.0 m²) of space (157 ft 8 in by 403 ft 8 in) and can hold up to 7,265 persons. It can be divided into three smaller halls and is used for banquets, trade shows, and other events.

Theater

The 2,244-seat theater is the home of the Peoria Symphony Orchestra, Peoria Ballet, and Peoria Opera. It is also used for concerts, Broadway shows, and other events. It contains ten dressing rooms including a star dressing room, four 12-person chorus rooms, two 8-person dressing rooms, two 6-person dressing rooms and a 3-person dressing room, and a 1,250-square-foot (116 m²) rehearsal hall backstage. There are 1,450 seats in the main level, 378 seats in the lower balcony and 348 seats in the upper balcony.

Meeting rooms

There are ten meeting rooms totaling 16,889 square feet (1,569.0 m²) and divisible into sixteen meeting rooms.

External links

• Peoria Civic Center - includes Carver Arena, exposition hall and theater.
• Carver Arena - BRADLEYBRAVES.COM