“The Lion King’s” six-week run in Des Moines ended April 9, leaving behind a sizable impact on the local economy.

Scott Carlson, the managing partner at Court Avenue Restaurant and Brewing Co., said his 10-year-old business had one of its best months ever in March when the Disney theatrical show was in town.

“It was a great month, not only in terms of sales, which are always nice, but in terms of the crowds that we served,” he said.

Carlson had expected his restaurant to be a popular destination for families coming downtown to eat before the show, but he saw a more diverse group of customers than anticipated. Instead of just parents with their children, there were lots of mixed groups of people, ranging from grandmothers with their grandchildren to groups of neighbors with their children, Carlson said.

“In all, it exposed us to a new clientele,” Carlson said. “And now that these people came here and saw who we are, they’ll hopefully come back and see us again. Beyond the short-term impact the show had on us, we’re expecting a nice impact for the long term.”

Jeff Chelesvig, president and CEO of the Civic Center of Greater Des Moines, said attendance for “The Lion King” was more than 115,000, which generated about $6.5 million in ticket sales. Using what he believes to be a conservative formula that for every dollar spent on tickets, another $2 is spent at local businesses, he estimates the show had an economic impact of at least $13 million.

“The public responded about like we had anticipated,” Chelesvig said. “This show is wildly successful around the country, and it was well-received here.”

About half of all tickets sold were to people outside Greater Des Moines, Chelesvig said. He thinks this had a great deal to do with Des Moines’ favorable position on the tour schedule ahead of other Midwest cities like Omaha and Kansas City.

The large number of tickets bought by out-of-towners was reflected in increased bookings at local hotels. The Civic Center partnered with many hotels to offer room and ticket deals through the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Web site, and Chelesvig said all those packages sold out. Area hotels also benefited by selling rooms to the 103 cast members who lived in Des Moines during the show’s run.

Paul Rottenberg, the president of Orchestrate Management, which manages several local hotels and restaurants, said the Hotel Fort Des Moines attributed 400 room-nights to people who came to Des Moines for “The Lion King.”

“We sold out of every package that we bought and had to buy more,” Rottenberg said. “Packages for the big Civic Center shows are generally successful, but this one was especially strong. It shows that people are willing to make an evening out of coming downtown for events.”

Centro, a restaurant Orchestrate manages, was also busier than normal during “The Lion King.” Rottenberg said it served 200 to 300 additional people each week of the show. He was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came to his businesses on Tenth Street instead of eating or staying at places in the immediate vicinity of the Civic Center.

“Generally, the Broadway Series is a very positive thing for our market,” Rottenberg said. “The big shows bring a lot of people from out of town to the downtown hotels.”

The Civic Center launched its Broadway series in 1997, and at the time, Chelesvig said, these shows drew about 30,000 to 40,000 people per year. For the past six years or so, attendance has grown to more than 100,000 per year.

“We probably hit a record this year,” he said, “with over 100,000 people at this single show.”

During the first few weeks of “The Lion King,” he said, a few single tickets remained, but by the third week, every performance was sold out. During the last two weeks, 16 standing-room tickets were added to each show, and those sold out as well.

On Tuesday, the opening night of “Hairspray,” the Civic Center will announce its 2006-2007 Broadway season lineup. Like past years, Chelesvig said, the series will include five shows and a couple of special productions.

“Next year is going to be a busy season and a great year,” he said.

Another thing the Civic Center has in the works is its Civic Centerpiece capital campaign to finance building improvements and education programs. Chelesvig hopes the recent success of “The Lion King” translates into a lot of community support for the campaign, which he hopes to complete by the end of 2006.

The Civic Center will use some of the money it has already raised through the campaign to begin improvements this summer, starting with the rigging, the system that lifts scenery and props. By next summer, Chelesvig hopes to refurbish the more than 2.700 seats in the main hall. Replacing the rigging will cost about $500,000 and re-covering the seats will cost about $1 million.

“I think ‘The Lion King’ once again reinforces how important the Civic Center is not only for the quality of life in Des Moines, but as an economic driver,” Chelesvig said.