St. Louis’ old Kiel Opera House will be reopened as the Peabody Opera House in the fall of 2011 with 264 events already planned. The newly renovated venue will host a mix of concerts, comedy shows, Broadway musicals and family events in the main theater. The Peabody will also have three smaller side theaters that will be rented out for local plays, concerts, social events and even weddings.

Peabody Energy Corp., a Fortune 500 company with headquarters in St. Louis, has paid an undisclosed amount of money for the opera house’s naming rights.

“Peabody is all about energy, and we’re all about creativity,” Peabody Energy’s chief executive Greg Boyce told reporters. “And we’re glad to have this new home for creative energy just a few blocks from our home.”

The opera house, which sits at 14th and Market next to the Scottrade Center sports arena, will still honor its old namesake Mayor Henry Kiel, who was Mayor of St. Louis from 1913 to 1925. The Peabody’s VIP lounge, converted from the fourth side theater, will be named the Kiel Club and there will be a memorial plaque in the building.

The old Kiel/new Peabody was built in 1934 as an Art Deco concert hall. Originally the Kiel had a 12,000 seat auditorium, but that was demolished in 1993 to make way for the Blue’s new home area–Scottrade Center–which sits directly behind it. What’s left of the old Kiel still has a 3,500 opera house and four smaller theaters. The opera house was supposed to be renovated as well when the hockey arena was built, but that deal fell through. The opera house was patched up, but allowed to stand empty.

The old Kiel had two sections with back to back stages, allowing it to host multiple events. The larger auditorium has seen college and NBA basketball games, circuses, wrestling matches and major rock concerts.

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