PEORIA — For the Peoria Civic Center, it appears there might be stage lights at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. Financial relief from local and federal sources has helped the downtown Peoria facility avoid a worst-case scenario, according to Civic Center officials, after the coronavirus pandemic shut down live entertainment. Continued progress on COVID-19 vaccinations and more bookings of concerts and theater productions provide other signals of hope. "I can't stress enough how optimistic we are for the near future," Civic Center General Manager Rik Edgar said. "I think we can go from a shutdown to a substantially great business again.