Surpassing theaters in the Midwest and around the world, the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines recently ranked 17th in the January 11, 2010 edition of Pollstar magazine’s annual list of the top 100 worldwide theater venues. The #17 position - based on 2009 ticket sales of 208,645 - puts the Civic Center ahead of all other Midwest theaters in the ranking, including St. Louis’ Fabulous Fox Theatre (#23), Chicago’s Chicago Theatre (#28) and Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre (#38).

“This ranking is a testament to the remarkable support Iowans have for professional theater,” said Jeff Chelesvig, Civic Center President and CEO. “Thanks to their patronage, the CivicCenter outranked theaters in cities with much higher populations - including London, England;Dublin, Ireland; and Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.”

The Civic Center’s 2009 lineup included Broadway hits such as WICKED, SPRING AWAKENING and LEGALLY BLONDE, special events such as the Smart Talk Connected Conversations and sell-out concerts like James Taylor and A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Shows on the 2010 schedule include DISNEY’S THE LION KING (now playing), JERSEY BOYS, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY and RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN’S SOUTH PACIFIC.

Mexico City’s Auditorio Nacional theater ranked first in Pollstar’s annual listing, followed by New York City’s Radio City Music Hall in second place and Atlanta’s Fox Theatre in third place.