MILESTONE WILL TAKE PLACE SUNDAY; SHOW ME CENTER PLANS WELCOME FOR 4 MILLIONTH CUSTOMER

The Show Me Center expects to welcome its 4 millionth customer at the World Wrestling Federation event this Sunday.

The milestone comes only four years to the month after the 13-year-old Cape Girardeau arena touted its 3 millionth customer.

David Ross, Show Me Center director, couldn't be happier with the math. Since it opened on Aug. 20, 1987, the $13.5 million arena has hosted everything from rodeos to rock 'n' roll, country music to craft shows, and soccer to "Sesame Street."

Such celebrities as Bob Hope, Tina Turner, Bill Cosby, Red Skelton, Hulk Hogan and Rush Limbaugh have graced its stage. So too have controversial figures like Oliver North and Anita Hill.

The biggest single crowd -- more than 7,700 -- crowded the Show Me Center in 1988 to hear President Ronald Reagan speak. Not far behind was the nearly 7,700 for a World Wrestling Federation card featuring Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant.

Charles "Bud" Leming has served on the Show Me Center Board of Managers from the beginning. He said the center has made it possible to attract big-name entertainment to the region. "It's just astounding when you think about it," he said.

The multipurpose arena is home to 160 to 200 events a year, not to mention a similar number of smaller gatherings in its meeting rooms.

"About every other day, on average, we have something booked in the arena," said Ross. That includes everything from concerts and Southeast Missouri State University basketball games to trade shows and hospital dinners.

The 4 millionth customer won't go unnoticed. The lucky person will receive a day's interest on $4 million from Capaha Bank, pizza for a year from Domino's Pizza, a limited edition Dr. Pepper Mountain Bike from Pepsi-Cola, a ticket upgrade for the grand-prize winner and three guests to ringside seats for the World Wrestling matches, a one-year subscription to the Southeast Missourian and KGMO's trip for two to Wrestlemania on April 1 with airfare provided to Houston, Texas, by Gulliver's Travel Agency.

Stars expected

The WWF event itself features such wrestling stars as Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, Molly Holly and Ivory.

As part of the festivities, Angle, a former Gold Medal winner in the OIympics, will be inducted into Cape Girardeau's honorary Ensign Girardot Navy.

The WWF event is just one of the events that helps the Show Me Center's bottom line. The center operates on a $1.1-million-a-year budget. It has 13 full-time employees and about 300 part-time workers.

Ross said the Show Me Center has adapted to the changing entertainment business.

Aerosmith and Guns 'N Roses sold out the house in 1988. But relatively few rock 'n' roll bands have performed at the Show Me Center. Country music did well for several years, but it too has been going through some down times recently.

"What are current right now are boy acts and Britney Spears," said Ross. "We really don't have a promoter that has been able to get them in here."

Ticket prices have risen dramatically over the years. When comedian Bob Hope performed at the Show Me Center in August 1987, the top ticket prices were $20. Today, ticket prices often are $30 or more.

But no one has topped Hope in one respect. Prior to his show, Hope hit golf balls off the roof of the Show Me Center, a marketing ploy conceived by Ross, who remembered the old Texaco commercials where the famed comedian drove golf balls off an oil derrick.