The MetroCentre forecasted about 1.5 million dollars in total revenues year-to-date. Right ow they're above 1.6 million so about 170,000 thousand dollars more than expected.

Luther says Icehog hockey sales are up for the first part of the season. He says new promotions for the team are paying off. He also says a Bob Dylan concert last month helped with the numbers. The city is closely monitoring the big orange box, given the bailout money it footed for the once-struggling facility. Luther says the economy certainly plays a big part of crowd turnout and he hopes things continue to look up.

"We want to make sure people are still buying tickets.. that they're spending their dollars on entertainment options and that they chose to partake in events at the Rockford MetroCentre", said Luther.

He says they're still working hard on corporate sponsorships, specifically when it comes to naming rights for the building.