Five year lease signed in Peoria by Blues

PEORIA, IL – Location, Location, Location. Those words are often cited as the three most important factors in any real estate deal. 
 
That concept was essential for the St. Louis Blues’ decision to sign a new five-year lease with the Peoria Civic Center and keep their AHL affiliate, the Peoria Rivermen, in place through the 2014-15 season. After SCP Worldwide, the company that owns both the NHL St. Louis Blues and the Rivermen, inked the five-year deal this week to keep the team in Peoria for five more years, Chief Operating Officer Josh Morin summed up the reasoning in one word, “Proximity.”
 
With the home arenas of the teams less than 170 miles apart, the parent club wanted to keep the Rivermen close. “The number one reason the Blues wanted to stay in Peoria is the fantastic proximity to St. Louis. It is quick and affordable to make player moves. I think we see more moves because of it – players going up or coming down.”
 
“This is such great news for our (season ticket-holder) families,” says Wendy Mitchell, Director of Business Development for the Rivermen. “We’ve got people who have had season tickets for almost 30 years.” 
 
Twenty-eight years of professional hockey in Peoria, to be exact. That’s pretty impressive – enough to land them ninth on a list of the longest concurrent professional hockey markets in the minor leagues. That longevity is largely owed to those season ticket holders. “We rank about fifth in the league when it comes to season tickets sold,” Mitchell said. The team ranks right in the middle of the AHL when it comes to average attendance, though – just over 4,000 fans per game.
“We’d like to see six or seven thousand on a Friday or Saturday night,” Mitchell added.
 
The team is finding ways to do that. “We are hoping to add a post game concert later this season, and March 6 we are having free food night – each fan will get a couple hot dogs, a soda, and a soft pretzel,” Morin said. 
 
Peoria also is adding staff and remodeling its front office to accommodate the expansion. In many ways, even after the lease is signed, there will be plenty of work to be done.
 
The lease negotiations did take longer than expected, though, and that worried a few observers. They thought that, perhaps, the Blues were thinking of relocating their AHL franchise elsewhere. How close did the Blues come to leaving Peoria?
 
“Well, it is a business,” Morin replied, “To be honest, other options were considered.” But in the end?
 
“The Blues didn’t want a change.”
 
The Rivermen will need to add to their staff sooner than expected. Wendy Mitchell, the teams director of business development, announced Tuesday that she is resigning. After nine years with the team, she is staying in the area, taking a position with the Children’s Hospital of Illinois Foundation.
Contact the author: shaun.bill@prohockeynews.com