Convocation Center books first major event

by Lesli Groth

NIU has announced that the Northern Illinois Farm Show will be held in the $36 million Convocation Center next January—an event which will bring an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 people to DeKalb.

The indoor farm show, featuring products and services available to manage a successful farm operation from more than 200 companies, will be held Wednesday, Jan. 8, and Thursday, Jan. 9, 2003.

This is the first event to be booked in the Convocation Center, which will open this fall.

NIU President John Peters said he is optimistic that the Convocation Center will be able to attract a broad range of programs that will be of interest to the DeKalb and NIU communities.

"We're very excited about this event and looking forward to a long-term relationship with the Northern Illinois Farm Show," added Convocation Center Director John Gordon. "This is the kind of staple event that we want to bring to DeKalb."

Produced by Cygnus Expositions of Burnsville, Minn., it is the only farm show held annually in northern Illinois.  

"The Convocation Center will be a state-of-the-art facility offering better access and parking for the Northern Illinois Farm Show," said John Hendel of Cygnus Expositions. "The center is located in a very strong agricultural area and is a perfect setting for farmers and equipment manufacturers to meet and do business."

Hendel noted that an event this size can make an economic impact in DeKalb of more than $2 million over a two- to three-day period.

"This is an exciting time at NIU as we move from the construction phase to the operational phase," said Bob Albanese, associate vice president of finance and facilities at NIU. "We've received a lot of interest from promoters as the opening of the facility nears."

An event calendar now is available at http://www.convocenter.niu.edu and events will be added as scheduled.