DES MOINES — Polk County and Oak View Group, operators of Iowa Events Center, announced a new 10-year naming rights partnership with Casey’s, the third largest convenience retailer and fifth largest pizza chain in the country, to rename the 15,000-seat multi-purpose sports and entertainment venue, Casey’s Center, effective on July 1, 2025. The Polk County Board of Supervisors will vote on the proposed new name at their scheduled meeting on October 22.

“The Board of Supervisors takes pride in the impressive accomplishments of the Iowa Events Center and Arena over the last 20 years and the substantial impact it has had on our community. We are thrilled to have Casey’s as our next branding partner for the arena,” said Board Chair Angela Connolly, Polk County Board of Supervisors. “They are a home-grown company with a footprint in all corners of our state. Their reputation for being a dedicated community partner is well known and exactly what we were hoping for in our next naming partner. Together, we, along with our operators Oak View Group, look forward to generating numerous unforgettable experiences in Casey’s Center over the coming decade.”

The 10-year partnership was executed on behalf of Polk County by OVG Global Partnerships, the sponsorship and naming rights division of Oak View Group that connects world-class brands with world-class live entertainment properties. This partnership with Casey’s to name the venue Casey’s Center brings together Iowa’s premier concert and sporting facility with a company which has called Iowa home for 60 years and currently employs 11,000 team members across more than 550 stores in Iowa.

The naming partnership marks the first for Casey’s. In addition to the Casey’s Center name, guests will soon be able to get the delicious, handmade Casey’s pizza along with other Casey’s branded snacks while attending events.

“As Casey’s grows and evolves, we are thrilled to share that Casey’s Center will be coming in July 2025 and we can’t wait to engage with our fans, guests and community in new ways. This venue holds significant importance for many across Iowa, the Midwest and beyond, and we’re grateful to be part of the popular sporting and entertainment events hosted here,” said Darren Rebelez, President and CEO, Casey’s. “We appreciate the partnership with the Polk County Board of Supervisors, Oak View Group, and the Iowa Events Center team, and we look forward to the exciting things ahead over the coming decade at Casey’s Center.”

“This exciting partnership with the team at Casey’s brings together organizations that are laser focused on providing superior customer service and unforgettable experiences for our customers and fans,” said Oak View Group’s Chris Connolly, General Manager of the Iowa Events Center. “I would like to personally thank the team at Wells Fargo for their outstanding partnership over the past 20 years. Their vision and commitment to the Iowa Events Center was a catalyst in providing all of Iowa great entertainment opportunities. We would also like to thank our OVG Global Partnerships team for helping us secure Casey’s as our new naming rights partner.”

Over the past 20 years, the arena has become a premier destination in the Midwest with over 10 million guests. The most recently completed fiscal year, from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 was a great year for live sports and entertainment at the Polk County venue with back-to-back sold out nights with Zach Bryan, Shania Twain and Fall Out Boy, an explosion of comedy acts like Adam Sandler, Katt Williams, Nate Bargatze and Tom Segura, and a sold-out basketball doubleheader with the University of Iowa men’s and women’s basketball teams.

Having just completed preseason games with the NHL and the NBA, the arena continues to book major acts for this coming year with upcoming concerts with Trans-Siberian Orchestra (November 14), Pentatonix (December 18) and Brooks and Dunn (April 24).

Wells Fargo, the original naming rights partner of the arena, opted not to renew its agreement when the contract expires on June 30, 2025.

By Matt Kelley (Radio Iowa)

A report from the Iowa Tourism Office finds visitors spent $7.3-billion dollars in Iowa during 2023, a new all-time record. The report says tourists shelled out an average of $20-million — per day — experiencing all that Iowa has to offer.

Chelsea Lerud, executive director of Iowa Travel Industry Partners, says the figures represent an increase from the year before of better than 5%.

“Usually, it’s in that 2-to-3% increase range,” Lerud says. “That 5% increase this year was a pleasant surprise, and it’s great to see the numbers well surpassing 2019. We’re out of that COVID downfall that the state felt in 2020.”

She says tourism is all about importing dollars from outside the state so local residents don’t have to pay for all of the services we enjoy and need.

“Visitors are contributing over $800 per home to the state, to the tax base,” Lerud says. “That means that those dollars are then filtered to the municipalities to pay for our police force and our fire and things that we love as residents that we’re not having to rely on higher property taxes to support.”

The study found travel-generated state and local tax receipts exceeded $1-billion last year, enough to pay the salaries of more than 19,000 public school teachers. Iowa has many hidden gems for tourists, in addition to a host of attractions that are well advertised.

“The Iowa State Fair had record numbers this last year,” Lerud says, “so we’ll see that reflected in the 2024 economic impact when those numbers come out. Outdoor recreation is huge for us in the state, and so we’re seeing more people come to experience our bike trails and our waterways for canoeing and kayaking and white water and enjoying the great outdoors.”

Tourism isn’t just a weekend draw, either. Larud says Iowa’s visitor economy is taking place seven days a week.

“Our partners around the state are doing a fantastic job at recruiting those regional and national-level sporting events and conferences,” she says, “which are bringing in the travelers during the week as well, not just the families jumping in the car or the retired couple coming for a weekend getaway.”

The report says tourism plays a crucial role in Iowa’s job market, supporting nearly 71,000 jobs, which accounts for more than 5% of all employment in the state.