Bloomington, Ill. (February 4, 2010) – Central Illinois Arena Management announced another record breaking week in attendance at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

During the week of week of January 18th, 15,872 patrons enjoyed several events at the Coliseum which included a PrairieThunder hockey game, World Famous Harlem Globetrotters Basketball, World Championship ICE Motorcycle Racing and the Brad Paisley American Saturday Night Tour, breaking the previous record of 12,279 for the highest attendance in one week in January 2008.

The U.S. Cellular Coliseum, a multi-use facility, performed several building conversions during the record breaking week which included changeovers from ice hockey to basketball to Motorcycle ICE Racing and then to a full concert setup in five days.

Jim Appio, Associate General Manager of the U.S. Cellular Coliseum is not new to multiple changeovers on consecutive days. “The Coliseum was designed to allow our operations crew to changeover from one event setup to another without much difficulty. However, there are challenges with every event and we take pride in assuring our customer the best setup for each event.”

January’s total attendance reached over 36,000, providing an economic dividend back to the community of over $1.8 million. Since the U.S. Cellular Coliseum opened their doors in April 2006, over one million fans have attended events including PraireThunder hockey games, Bloomington Extreme games, concerts, trade shows, theater and other sporting events. The estimated economic impact of the U.S. Cellular Coliseum has been estimated at over $52 million.

The U.S. Cellular Coliseum’s one millionth fan was recognized on Saturday, January 23rd at World Championship ICE Racing in front of the crowd. Darrel Ifft of Chenoa, IL was awarded from his seat the ultimate prize package from U.S. Cellular and the U.S. Cellular Coliseum including two complimentary tickets for every event in 2010.

Upcoming events at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum for the month of February include Illinois High School Association’s Competitive Cheerleading State Finals on February 5th and 6th, Comedian and actor Rodney Carrington on February 13th, Illinois High School Association’s Dual Team Wrestling State Finals on February 27th, as well as six home PrairieThunder hockey games.