After two decades leading Moline’s Vibrant Arena to many profitable years, Scott Mullen is now working to book acts and events nationwide, for the company that manages Davenport’s Adler Theatre and RiverCenter.
In late March, VenuWorks announced that Mullen joined the company as Vice President of Programming & Entertainment, bringing extensive experience in live entertainment booking, strategic programming, artist relations, and revenue development.
He’s also interim general manager for the city of Davenport-owned venues, after former head Lance Sadlek was let go by VenuWorks, which contracts with the city to manage the facilities.
“The account wasn't living up to expectations with the city or with VenuWorks, so they just felt that there's time to make a change and see if we could get a contract extension here and try to just right the ship,” Mullen said Wednesday. “What I'm doing here is filling in on an interim basis, just because of my experience in the market.
“We have over 60 venues around the country that we manage and my job is to bring content to those venues and since I had a great grasp of this market and how things work in the Quad Cities, they thought it'd be a good fit for me to come in just temporarily,” he said. “Once we can get our contract extended and they would bring in somebody more permanent to replace Lance.”
In this leadership role, Mullen will work alongside venue teams and venue partners to shape programming and entertainment strategy across VenuWorks’ portfolio – which includes 60+ venues in 27 communities across the U.S., spanning arenas, stadiums, performing arts theaters, convention centers, outdoor amphitheaters and sports complexes.
His focus will include expanding the event pipeline, enhancing collaboration across venues, and identifying new opportunities that increase revenue and community engagement, according to a VenuWorks press release.
Mullen’s career spans leadership roles across arenas, performing arts centers, stadiums/amphitheaters, and convention/conference facilities. Most recently, he was executive director of Vibrant Arena at The MARK in Moline (formerly known as The MARK of the Quad Cities, the iWireless Center, and the TaxSlayer Center), where he oversaw all aspects of arena operations, booking, and event strategy.
During his tenure, he successfully attracted a wide range of national touring acts and family shows, strengthened key industry relationships, and enhanced the venue’s reputation within the live entertainment industry.
“Scott is a proven programming leader with a track record of delivering high-caliber content and strong financial results,” Steve Peters, CEO of VenuWorks, said in the release announcing his new job. “This addition comes at an important time for our organization, and I’m confident Scott’s talents, industry relationships, and forward-thinking approach will elevate our programming efforts company wide.”
Mullen – who recently bought a house in Ankeny, Iowa, close to VenuWorks’ home office in Ames -- was approached for the job in January, after he moved to Tulsa, Okla., to help them run a new arena, but soon he got a call from Steve Peters of VenuWorks, offering him this position.
“The guy who runs this company, Steve Peters, he's one of the most respected people in our industry and a truly great person,” Mullen said. “One of the good guys out there in our business. He’s just a fantastic human being. And I've known him for a long, long time. And he knew my dad, actually.”
“He called me and I'm like, man, I've always wanted to work for his company just because I know his reputation, and he's been president or chairman of IAVM, our industry association,” he said. “Everybody in the building knows and respects him.”
An active leader in the venue management community, Mullen has served in national leadership roles with the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM) since 1993, including service on the IAVM Board as Arena Sector Director and Director of Region 3.
“We worked out a deal that didn't hurt the guy where I was in Tulsa and I got to come on board here with VenuWorks,” Mullen said. “We're still helping Tulsa out with some of their projects, and it's a win-win-win for everybody there. And I miss the people over at the building (Vibrant Arena). I worked for 20 years, and those employees that work there, like, you know, spend more time with them than you do with your own family.”
“Davenport, which is one of our landmark accounts, one of the original ones that the company had, so they care about this place and want to keep it going,” he said of 30-year-old VenuWorks. “Right now I’m just kind of overseeing everything in the building for now and then also I'm booking this building along with others and I'll always continue to book this building with VenuWorks as one of our priority buildings.”
Mullen is commuting between Ames and Davenport temporarily.
“I'm here most of the week and then I'll go into the office there, once or twice a week. It all just depends on the schedule and I'm going back and forth right now,” he said.
As executive director of Vibrant Arena (1201 River Drive, Moline),, he helped turn an operation that had a rare deficit in his first year (2005), into sustained success, including record-breaking net profits of more than $2 million annually in two of the past three years. He has also achieved record net annual profits while managing Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and Hersheypark Arena, Stadium & Amphitheater.
Mullen served as The MARK boss for 20 years, until July 2025, when he was fired by the Illinois Quad City Civic Center Authority for three drunk-driving arrests since 2020.
In May 2025, he self-reported that he was arrested in Clayton County, Iowa for driving under the influence of alcohol, in a vehicle provided by the authority for his business and personal use. Subsequent to this admission, the authority learned that he similarly had prior OWI arrests, in 2024 in Dubuque County and 2020 in Scott County, also in a vehicle provided for his business and personal use, as a fringe benefit to his employment.
While at the arena, Mullen wouldn’t compete much for business with the Adler/RiverCenter (136 E. 3rd St., Davenport), except in wedding receptions and conventions/conferences, he said.
“Visit Quad Cities does a great job of placing things throughout the Quad Cities and bidding on events for stuff like that. And you know, every once in a while, we might compete on a show that we might have done in a half house setup or lower bowl setup,” he said of acts like Chicago and the Beach Boys. “There's lots of venues all in the same game right now between Rhythm City and Capitol Theater, the Rust Belt. So there's a lot of people going after the same size act. So there's plenty of competition, more probably more than ever in the Quad Cities for all things people that are all going after the same stuff.”
“The VenuWorks team includes so many quality individuals whom I consider to be among the very best in this business, and it is an honor to join their ranks,” said Mullen. “I look forward to leveraging the growing network of VenuWorks-managed venues across the country to strategically deliver high-caliber, revenue-producing content."
“Rick Palmer did a great job here for years running the venue for VenuWorks,” he said, noting the management firm has grown significantly over the years, from New York to California.
“So we got to look at all types of events. Sometimes just tiny little events of a couple hundred people and then sometimes we're working 10,000-seat shows. But it's a great job,” Mullen said.
“It's funny how things work out. Things happen for a reason. I learned a big lesson and I have a stronger relationship probably with my family than I've had in years.”
“I haven't had a drink in 11 months and I'm focusing on my health. I've lost over 50 pounds, I feel 20 years younger and I got a fantastic job for a fantastic company and so I'm actually better off,” he said. “And that's good. Stupid habits can catch up with you. And I took corrective action, fixed the problem and try to make smarter decisions and eliminate any risk.”
“Things change in life and you move on. And in my case, I was very, very blessed and fortunate to have it work out the way it did,” he added.
Meanwhile, Vibrant Arena is still in the process of hiring a new executive director; finance director Rocky Jones has been serving as interim boss.
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