‘It’s A Mad Scramble’: Struggling Colorado Music Venues Rush To Apply For Federal Relief
DENVER (CBS4) – Much of the money Americans has received through stimulus checks have gone back into the economy, but many businesses that need support aren’t open yet. State and local government relief for performing arts and music venues wasn’t enough to keep some Denver spots in business.
Many are banking on another federal grant to stay alive.
“Every time we have to shut down and reopen, the amount of money it costs to do that, it’s unimaginable. We’ve had to do it twice, and I really don’t want to do it a third time,” said Donald Rossa, owner of Dazzle.
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Rossa says it costs nearly $40,000 every month just to keep Dazzle open. He’s had to lay off 45 employees and cancel shows with struggling gig-workers due to COVID-19. His understanding landlord along with financial assistance from the City of Denver and PPP loans have allowed his doors to stay open.
Through all of this, Rossa continues to operate a food bank for musicians.
“Without our community support, it would have been a very difficult mission to stay open, but they rally behind us financially,” said Rossa.
Rossa is one of thousands of venue owners waiting to apply for more government relief.
Last week, President Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act. In addition to stimulus checks, the plan provides additional relief for small businesses, restaurants and entertainment venues. The Shuttered Venue Operators Grant was created to help these venues at the end of 2020.
Under the new administration, there’s more relief. The American Rescue Plan Act provides another $1.25 billion for SVO Grants.
Previously, venues could not apply for a SVOG and a PPP loan. The American Rescue Plan Act removes allows venues to apply for both government relief programs.
“The PPP is very restricted on what you can use for that. It’s for payroll, rent, utilities and insurance. With the SVO, we can use it for a lot more things than that,” said Rossa.
Chris Zacher, executive director of the Colorado Independent Venue Association, has been guiding venue owners through the grant process.
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“It’s a mad scramble right now for venues to pull documents together and find banks still offering PPP loan applications,” said Zacher. “This money truly is going to save venues. At the same time, the delay in pushing this program out is going to cause venues to collapse.”
Zacher is also the Executive Director and CEO of Denver’s Levitt Pavilion, another music venue that’s been silent for over a year. Several of Denver’s music venues have already closed due to hardships experienced during COVID-19.
For struggling venues, even receiving less than half of the annual amount they made before the pandemic is a huge relief. Rossa says it’s enough money to jumpstart.
“That money goes into helping make up for the shortfalls that we had last year. Every organization that I know of, for profit or not for profit, has had to dip into reserve funds to get through 2020. It also helps us give some certainty as we move forward, because we’re not going to be opening at full capacity,” said Zacher.
According to the U.S. Small Business Association, eligible entities include:
Live venue operators or promoters
Theatrical producers
Live performing arts organization operators
Relevant museum operators, zoos and aquariums who meet specific criteria
Motion picture theater operators
Talent representatives
Each business entity owned by an eligible entity that also meets the eligibility requirements
The application process is expected to open in early April.