October 17, 2002

Council Bluffs creating a new 'Entertainment Corridor'

he arena portion of the $74 million Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs is ready. Crews have been busy completing the finishing touches to what will be the new home for the River City Lancers hockey team. They will play their season opening game in the new arena this Friday, October 18th. 

Construction on the 7,500 seat multi-purpose arena and convention center began in June 2001. Although the adjacent convention center will not be totally completed until December of this year, people can take a self-guided tour of the arena during an open house October 20th from 11am to 6pm. 

The arena which seats 6,900 for hockey and 8,000 for other events already has two other major events scheduled. The USHRA Monster Jam will be a 3-day event starting on Friday, November 1st. Then on Friday, November 22nd, the arena will host a concert by John Mellencamp with special guest Alice Peacock & Band. Tickets for the Monster Jam which runs from Friday through Sunday (Nov 1 - 3) are $17.50 for adults & $6.50 for kids 2-12. John Mellencamp tickets are $45 each. You may purchase tickets by calling 402-422-1212 or visit the Mid-America website at MidamericaCenter.com. 

Construction for the complex has been funded by the casino-supported Iowa West Foundation and a Vision Iowa grant. Additional contributions to the project were made by Harrah's Casino, the Southwest Iowa Foundation and the City of Council Bluffs. It is being managed by Philadelphia-based SMG, an internationally known management firm of public assembly facilities.

The convention center which opens in December has a 25,000-square-foot exhibit hall and 23,000 square feet of meeting space plus space for a ballroom. An adjacent retail plaza and 16-theater cinema are also under construction. In addition, ground was recently broken for a 133-room hotel that will be connected to the convention center by a covered walkway.

The Mid-America Center, that sits near the junction of Interstates 80 and 29, may soon have other new neighbors to the west. Plans are being developed to build a $12.1 million water park that will feature a 62-foot high tower slide, a wave pool, an 850-foot lazy river plus a beach area, picnic pavilion, arcade and retail area.
 
The Council Bluffs Planning Commission recently approved the development plans for the 20-acre-plus park that will sit south of 24th Avenue between South 32nd and South 33rd Streets. Those plans will still need to go before the Council Bluffs City Council for approval.
Funding for the project will once again come from the casino-based Iowa West Foundation along with other local and out-of-state investors. Horizon Amusement Group of Gold River, CA will develop the park.

Horizon, who has built a similar park in Hawaii and consulted on many others, hopes to begin construction yet this fall although it is more likely work on the project will not begin until next Spring with an opening date of Memorial Day 2004.

The park will be open each year from mid-May through mid-September. It is expected to employ around 110 mostly seasonal workers. Although it will be more compact than Oceans of Fun in Kansas City, the tallest rides will be higher than anything else in a 200-mile radius.

These projects, along with a recent proposal to build a new amusement park near the South Omaha Bridge Road suggests that Council Bluffs, Iowa just may be the new Entertainment Corridor of the Midwest.