File photo
File photo
The TaxSlayer Center, a 12,000-seat multipurpose event arena located in Moline and noted for its innovative architecture, is holding its own financially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"They (TaxSlayer) are financially solid and I've been impressed," Mayor Stephanie Acri told the Quad City Times. "I'm also really pleased with how they're using this down time."
While entertainment venues across the country have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic and its ban on large gatherings, the TaxSlayer Center is in good shape because of a hefty reserve of $8 million. Center officials are even performing $2 million in renovations to the facility during the pandemic closure. The renovations include dressing room upgrades, improved flooring and wall replacements, suite remodeling, and conference center improvements.
Eight staffers remain at the mostly deserted arena, doubling in jobs not their official normal duties. For example, a marketing director has been pulling weeds at the site and mowing the lawn.
Officials expressed gratitude for past community support and that the facility has survived on its own without taxpayers having to bail it out like at other facilities.
"It still hurts with COVID, but we have been very fortunate in that the area has really supported us over the years," TaxSlayer Center Executive Director Rocky Jones said. "We're going to make it through this fiscal year just fine. We're not at risk of running out of money.”
The facility opened in 1993.
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