What does Hard Rock Live’s arrival mean for the Coronado Theatre and BMO Center in Rockford?

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — When Hard Rock Casino Rockford locked in its opening date several months ago, Geno Iafrate made a phone call to deliver the news directly to someone across town.

That call went to Doug Johnson, the man responsible for booking entertainment at the Coronado Theatre and BMO Center in downtown. Iafrate, the president of Hard Rock in Rockford, wanted Johnson to know the casino had a massive budget for its opening weekend of entertainment at the 1,600-seat Hard Rock Live.

“You guys might want to lay off this weekend because you might have a hard time selling tickets,” Iafrate said he cautioned.

That call is indicative of how Iafrate says the casino can work with the city’s two other large-scale live entertainment venues to ensure its presence isn’t hurting their bottom line. It also shows how the casino and ASM Rockford, which manages the venues, are aware of the potential for competition.

“Periodically is there going to be some overlap there? It’s likely. It’s not going to be the norm, it’s not going to be common, but it’s possible,” Iafrate said.

Hard Rock sees itself as a potential benefit to the 2,300-seat Coronado and 6,300-seat BMO Center by adding a new attraction that helps make the city a tourism draw. It’s also been an early partner with the venues, including offering financial and promotional support.

“We can help. We’re additive to the market, so we’re not taking away anything that exists,” Iafrate said. “What I think we should work collectively toward is really solidifying Rockford as a regional entertainment destination.”

The entertainment pie

Johnson, regional director of ASM Global and the assistant general manager of ASM Rockford, said Hard Rock’s entry into the market means that talent is now spread between three venues.

“The pie is spread more. So now we have to find more content, whether it’s them or me,” he said. “It goes on in every city in America.”

Johnson said Hard Rock already won out on an act that he had pursued as well. He didn’t name the performer because the show has yet to be announced. He said it’s too early to see an statistical data about whether Hard Rock’s entry has affected the downtown venues.

“We have made offers on the same acts,” he said. “You’re going to win some, you’re going to lose some.”

Johnson said the casino has a beautiful venue with state-of-the art sound, video and lights. It also has a competitive advantage built into its budget, he said.

“Casinos don’t necessarily need to make money on their shows, they’re there to bring people in to stay and gamble,” Johnson said. “They may be spending more for an act than I can.”

There are advantages for Johnson’s bookings, too, including being able to sell the historic beauty of the 97-year-old Coronado Theatre.

“The Coronado is, of course, a national landmark,” said Beth Howard, executive director of the Friends of the Coronado nonprofit. “This is absolutely one of the top theaters in the country — that has to matter to the audiences. Whether it’s conscious or subconscious, you just have a feeling of this performance here, and the history — I think that really draws people.”

Working together

Hard Rock has been a financial supporter and partner with both the downtown venues since shortly after it opened its interim casino in November 2021.

In February 2022, Hard Rock entered a five-year partnership with the Rockford IceHogs to enhance the in-game promotions and the fan experience, including a better video display at the BMO Center. Among the recent promotions is Hard Rock’s sponsorship of the Oct. 12 IceHogs season opening block party. Hard Rock also has a 54-person suite at center ice at the BMO.

The casino also forged a more than $100,000 partnership with the Coronado Theatre in September 2022 to renovate the historic opera boxes and restore a hospitality suite.

“We’ve never viewed the Coronado or the BMO as competition. In fact, we have been one of the strongest supporters of both of those venues,” Iafrate said. “We love those venues.”

The city of Rockford also plans to use some of Hard Rock’s tax revenue to support the downtown venues.

The city’s plan for spending the $7 million in guaranteed Hard Rock Casino gaming revenue includes $100,000 to support to the Rockford Area Venues & Entertainment Authority — which oversees the BMO Center, Coronado Theatre and Davis Park — with marketing to balance the effects of the entertainment booked at Hard Rock Casino.

Iafrate said he’s had some discussions about making sure they don’t book the same type of acts on the same weekends, although there isn’t always time to plan that out.

“Sometimes an agent will call and say I’m looking for a date, do you want it or not,” Iafrate said. “If you don’t answer within an hour it’s going to Milwaukee or Des Plaines or somewhere else, you have to be pretty quick in pulling the trigger on that stuff.”

The success for both organizations is in drawing visitors from outside of Rockford. For example, Johnson said 62% of ticket buyers — roughly 4,100 people — came from Chicago to see Jo Koy at the BMO Center in October 2023.

“If we’re promoting correctly, and we’re hitting the people we need to hit with our marketing initiatives, we’ll be OK,” Johnson said. “Buyers like me are very competitive, we want to win and we want to fill this place up.”

Iafrate said that’s exactly what all venues are striving for: to make Rockford a place that people come for entertainment.

“This is an example of the better all of us do, the better off the market is,” he said. “I don’t view them as competition. Never have.”

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas