By WMBD TV
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts broke records on Thursday last week, hosting Theresa Caputo Live! “The Experience”
“The Long Island Medium was at the BCPA, and she set the venue record for gross sales with just over $104,000 over 1,100 people in the building. It was a terrific show,” said Anthony Nelson, director of arts and entertainment for the City of Bloomington.
This was the highest-grossing show ever recorded in the center, with around 50% of attendees being from outside of the Twin Cities.
“A show like that brings in people from outside the community. Over 50% of our people were outside of McClean County. So hopefully, they come back and see another show sometime with a lot of those people. It was their first time at our venue, so they could see the list of other shows coming up,” he said.
The BCPA wasn’t the only one that saw the benefits from the show, as businesses around them in Downtown Bloomington saw the aftereffects.
“We’ve even heard it from a lot of our downtown businesses, a lot of our downtown friends. When we have a show like that they have to everybody has to make reservations, are coming to the restaurant, which means more people are spending money at their restaurants, bars, and places of business as well. It’s kind of a marketing tool for all of us,” he said.
The hope is to keep the momentum going forward with future shows like Christopher Cross and Aaron Lewis coming to the BCPA, bringing in people from around Illinois.
“Last year we set a record for attendance and for gross sales. We hope that trend continues. The more shows like this we have, the more people who come into our venue, and the more it kind of helps market your other show. We’re excited to see the growth continue,” he said.
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