Former Peoria historic venue for arts and entertainment to reopen

PEORIA (25News Now) — After closing its doors in 2023, the Scottish Rite Theatre in downtown Peoria is under new management.

TempleLive, an Arkansas-based event promotions group, purchased the building after it went up for sale last year. The building was previously owned by the Kim Blickenstaff Group.

TempleLive’s Director of Operations, Garrett Zimmerman, aims to open the venue in March 2025 and said fans should look forward to a variety of shows there.

“There’s nothing that we won’t do,” said Zimmerman. “We do everything from comedy, rock and roll, EDM, hip-hop, country music, there’s nothing we won’t give a try, and if the market wants it, we’ll provide more of it.”

District 3 City Councilman Tim Riggenbach said he is optimistic about the reopening and anticipates it will bring more business to the River City. Ultimately, he called this a “win” for Peoria.

“We haven’t met with [TempleLive] face to face, but they’ve got a track record of running facilities such as this in other parts of the country and different cities,” Riggenbach said. “They clearly know what they’re doing, and how to market that.”

Riggenbach also applauded the building’s former owners, Kim Blickenstaff Group, on the renovations done back in 2019, despite the abrupt closure.

The venue’s new owners believe the building is ready to rock.

TempleLive also has venues in Cleveland, Columbus, Fort Smith, and Wichita.

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