Des Moines, IA—The inaugural season of the 17,000-seat, Wells Fargo Arena, which is part of the Iowa Events Center—a multi-purpose event and meeting complex that also includes Hy-Vee Hall, Veterans Memorial Auditorium and the Polk County Convention Complex—has been declared a resounding success. "We have exceeded our expectations on many levels this past year," said Matt Homan, general manager, Iowa Events Center. "This was an incredible year for Iowans and we look forward to bringing many more exciting events for years to come.”
- more than 750,000 patrons in its first year of operation
- hosted 14 concerts including Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Green Day, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill
- hosted other events, including Disney on Ice, Tony Hawk's Boom Boom Huck Jam, World Wrestling Entertainment, Sesame Street Live, the Lipizzaner Stallions, and Arenacross
- hosted the Mediacom Classic Basketball Game between the Iowa State Cyclones and the Ohio State Buckeyes
- Ovations Food Services, the official food and beverage concessionaire and caterer of Wells Fargo Arena, sold 9,750 hamburgers, 42,750 hotdogs, 4,750 pounds of French fries, and 14,750 pounds of Dippin Dots.
The Iowa Events Center is managed by Philadelphia, PA-based Global Spectrum, a leader in the public assembly facility management field with more than 55 facilities throughout the United States and Canada. "Global Spectrum has done a fantastic job of managing Wells Fargo Arena as well as our other facilities at the Iowa Events Center and the community has benefited from all of the activity these facilities have brought," said Angela Connolly, chair, Polk County Board of Supervisors
The AHL Hockey Team, the Iowa Stars, whose home ice is the Wells Fargo arena, have played two pre-season, 40 regular season and three play off games there. "The Iowa Stars are proud to call such a first-class facility as the Wells Fargo Arena their home, and we thank the Global Spectrum staff for running such a top-notch operation," said John Pettit, president, Iowa Stars.
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