After two decades, Iowa Events Center could get a new operator

The Iowa Events Center could soon get a new operator as Polk County leaders consider putting the complex’s management contract up for bid for the first time since its opening. 

Polk County officials are poised to bid out a management contract for the Iowa Events Center complex in downtown Des Moines as its current agreement with the Oak View Group expires this year.

Polk County supervisors in mid-June voted 3-2 to hire the event center’s representative, JLL Consulting, to help select and oversee its next operator during the first year. That agreement will cost $197,500, county documents show. Outgoing supervisors Angela Connolly and Tom Hockensmith voted against the move.

Connolly said the county could use a consultant to better understand the complex’s operations and budget. Still, she and Hockensmith agreed it would be difficult for a new firm to outdo Oak View Group’s success.

“And it just seems to me that we are trying to fix something here that is not broken,” Hockensmith said.

The county-owned Iowa Events Center complex is Des Moines’ primary convention center and arena. The complex includes the EMC Expo Center — previously Hy-Vee Hall — Community Choice Convention Center and the Casey’s Center. Formerly the Wells Fargo Arena, the nearly 17,000-seat arena was renamed the Casey’s Center in July 2025.

The events center has hosted acts such as Paul McCartney, Taylor Swift and The Eagles.

Oak View Group has managed the events center since acquiring in 2021 its original contractor, Global Spectrum/Spectra, which had held the contract since 2004. The firm describes itself as a full-service venue management company that helps clients host sports, live entertainment and conventions, according to the complex’s website.

The Iowa Events Center brought in about $1.8 million to the county in fiscal year 2025, which began July 1, 2024, general manager Chris Connolly told the Des Moines Register. As they close out the 2026 fiscal year, they’re projecting about $2 million in revenue. In the 2024 fiscal year, the events center had its best operating year, raking in more than $3 million, Connolly said.

He points to the firm’s role in selling the naming rights of the arena to Casey’s and the expo center to EMC Insurance. Before the arena opened in 2005, Wells Fargo paid $11.5 million for the naming rights for 20 years. Casey’s paid $18.3 million to have the rights for 10 years.

Beyond the numbers, “we’ve forged relationships with these people for years and think that that is huge,” he said of partnerships with corporations like Casey’s and EMC.

Connolly said the Oak View Group was told last fall that the county would likely hire a consultant and the management contract could be out for bid. That’s standard practice, he said.

“None of it was a surprise. We get it,” Connolly said. “Like I said, I think our performance speaks for itself, so I’m not worried about that. If a consultant wants to come in and take a look at it, maybe there’s some efficiencies that can be improved.”

He said Oak View Group would bid on the contract should the county issue a request for proposals.

“I almost see this as going through a process … and whatever direction that goes, we’ll be ready for it,” Connolly said.

Outgoing supervisor chair Matt McCoy told colleagues that bringing in JLL Consulting to help oversee a competitive bid process affirms the county’s responsibility to be transparent with taxpayers about its contracts.

“You do RFPs with long-term partners to keep each other honest and to make sure that you’re getting a rigorous review of investment of Polk County taxpayer dollars,” he said.

“And to just say we’re not going to do that, to me, it shorts the taxpayer. It tells the taxpayer that, you know, we have such a cozy relationship that we don’t even need to go out and check our numbers,” McCoy added.

Hockensmith pushed back, saying that Oak View Group’s revenue numbers are undisputed and calling McCoy’s comments vindictive.

Supervisor Mark Holm said he views the action as primarily bringing JLL on board to evaluate operations and budgeting for the future.

JLL Consulting will help Polk County build a framework for the new operator contract, which includes ways to measure the complex’s success and details on monitoring the facility’s condition, according to county documents.

Virginia Barreda is the Des Moines and Polk County government reporter for the Register. She can be reached at vbarreda@dmreg.com.