Steve Peters

Steve began his career in 1976 managing municipal and university venues, then served as opening GM of Target Center in Minneapolis, and later as a vice president for Ogden Entertainment. In 1996 Steve created VenuWorks, a full-service venue management company that has become an industry leader, serving dozens of theatres, arenas and convention centers in markets across the US. In 2010 he assembled a group of investors and purchased the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in suburban Minneapolis, the largest dinner theatre complex in the US. He launched VenuWorks Theatricals in 2014, which has received a Tony Award nomination and an Outer Critics Circle Award for its work on Broadway. He created VenuWorks Sports in 2016 to bring the Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League to Evansville, IN. The franchise plays at the VenuWorks-managed Ford Center.

Steve holds an MFA from the University of Iowa. He lives in Ames, IA with his wife of 50 years, Randi, who oversees local community relations for the company. A past president of the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM), Steve is the recipient of two of IAVM’s top awards: The McElravy Award for lifetime achievement in 2015, and IAVM Foundation’s Legacy Award in 2018.