As of July, rival basketball teams aren’t the only thing Hilton Coliseum is going to be battling against.

Wells Fargo Arena is the newly constructed, state-of-the-art facility integrated into Des Moines’ Iowa Events Center, 730 3rd St., hosting technological advancements and amenities not available under Hilton’s big top.

To add insult to injury, Wells Fargo Arena is coming in with a bang, wooing major music acts such as Green Day and Paul McCartney.

“I think competition is going to be a good thing,” says Andy Long, general manager of the Iowa Events Center.

“In the short term, I think it’s going to be one of those things that obviously we’re the new facility, we are going to draw a lot more attention right now … in the long run, if we do very well, you’re going to have more attention that’s coming to central Iowa, which gives us the capability for everybody to do shows.”

Mark North, executive director for Hilton Coliseum, says they are still busy filling dates and that he doesn’t believe the new arena will change that, only that it adds another venue for acts to play.

“There’s a period called the honeymoon period with new buildings — the acts that come and want to try out the new building whether they’ve played the other one or not.”

Global Spectrum, a firm that manages and markets Wells Fargo Arena, is set on keeping the public’s attention as long as possible. Long says together they’re aggressively going after the things they need to be successful. Other than marketing, he says convenience holds weight as well.

“We have over half a million people who live within 20 minutes of the building, as compared to the 35- to 40-minute drive out from Des Moines up to Ames,” Long says. Our capacity, our capabilities and amenities both to the customer and to the show are going to have a major impact on some things.”

Some of those things are technological as well as technical. Wells Fargo Arena, with a capacity of 17,000 people, bests Hilton by more than 2,000. Long says Wells Fargo Arena has everything from voice-over IP to wireless technology, as well as fully loaded dressing-room areas that gives the arena the opportunity to host big shows.

“As the touring shows get more technologically advanced, that’s what they’re looking for,” says Long.

Even with Hilton being 30 years old, North says it’s far from a technological dinosaur.

“Being on a university campus, we have good technological abilities. However, they would have more to offer amenities-wise,” he says.

North admits Wells Fargo Arena has better ability for concessions and Hilton can get crowded, but says they’ve made changes over the years to help alleviate any problems. Hilton’s strengths, he says, are its reputation for being a well-maintained, full-service facility, as well their ability to accommodate large road crews with multiple semi-trucks.

Long says they may be better suited for large road crews.

“From a logistics standpoint, we’ve got a chance for shows to cruise from Omaha to Des Moines to Chicago. Ames is another 35-mile jaunt that jumps out of the way there.”

Long says having two major venues in a similar market is going to make the competition fun and interesting, but says Hilton is still going to plug along and have their share of shows. He says he’s simply talking up Wells Fargo Arena’s strengths and not dismissing Hilton as a viable place for acts to perform.

“I’m an Iowa State alum; I worked at Hilton Coliseum. It’s a beautiful building and you have a lot of great crew over there,” says Long.

“I’m busy selling myself and not worrying about down-selling what Hilton can provide,” he says.

Part of what Long is busy doing is getting more major music acts to pass through Des Moines, including the Rolling Stones, who recently agreed to perform in Omaha. He hopes in the end Wells Fargo Arena means more events for the fans.

No matter what comes out of Wells Fargo Arena, North can agree they still both have a tough job to do.

“We both have our work cut out for us,” he says.