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The Anthem, a well-liked stay music venue, shows a message of assist on their marquee on April 3, 2020 in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer | Getty Photos
At The Unbiased in San Francisco, it has been an extended, darkish 12 months in essentially the most literal sense. The music and comedy exhibits that stuffed the venue’s stage and boosted the native financial system have been halted since early March 2020. Save for a number of merchandise gross sales, its total income is down practically 100%.
“It has been a devastating 12 months for The Unbiased and our trade. We had been the primary to shut and would be the final to reopen,” mentioned Allen Scott, managing proprietor of The Unbiased.
“All of those small golf equipment that basically are the spine of the stay touring trade should not constructed to be shedding cash for 3, six — not to mention 12 or 18 — months,” Scott mentioned.
Homeowners like Scott had been desirous to file their functions for the Small Enterprise Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program, a $16 billion fund geared toward floating the trade till in-person leisure can resume. Music golf equipment, theaters, promoters and extra can entry grants of as a lot as $10 million, based mostly on gross income from 2019, as part of this system, which was ushered in in the course of the second Covid aid package deal.
However the SBA’s portal confronted technical challenges on launch day, and the functions course of is at the moment suspended.
The portal was set to open at midday on Thursday. However when it closed at 4:15 p.m., no functions had been submitted. On Friday, it remained closed all through the day whereas the company labored to resolve the technical points. Late Friday, the SBA mentioned the portal would stay shut via the weekend.
“When a reopening date is decided, we’ll present updates prematurely in order that candidates have time to organize,” the company mentioned in a tweet late Friday.
When the portal opens, the funds shall be distributed on a first-come, first-served foundation, the company mentioned.
“This determination was not made flippantly as we perceive the necessity to get aid rapidly to this hard-hit trade,” SBA spokesperson Andrea Roebker mentioned in a press release Thursday, including the company was working to get it again up and working as quickly as doable.
Earlier Friday, the SBA mentioned, it was working with its distributors to repair the tech points, which had been recognized.
For now, the wait continues. Business advocates and homeowners, grateful for the lifeline, had been annoyed on the glitches and the delay in getting support out the door. The challenges had been harking back to points confronted in the course of the early days of the Paycheck Safety Program’s launch final 12 months. That program noticed delays in getting functions processed.
“We’re grateful to the SBA, for his or her exhausting work in getting this program created… There’s numerous confusion and nervousness surrounding this course of however we’re nonetheless hopeful. The appliance can’t come quickly sufficient,” Scott mentioned. “Our livelihood is dependent upon this.”
The Nationwide Unbiased Venue Affiliation was shaped in the course of the pandemic to advocate for support. It now represents some 3,000 native venues and promoters throughout the nation.
NIVA estimates a whole bunch of venues have closed their doorways for good as a result of pandemic. And extra are threatened, given the shutdown might prolong into the summer time and fall. Serving to struggling venues now shall be key to rebuilding the financial system as soon as issues reopen, the group mentioned.
“We’re a part of the spine of our native economies, as a result of for each greenback spent at a small music venue on a ticket, $12 of financial exercise is realized for space companies,” mentioned Audrey Repair Schafer, a NIVA board member.
“If they need their communities to return again, as soon as it is secure to reopen absolutely, they are going to want this financial magnet of impartial venues like ours,” she mentioned. The group tasks these venues generate a direct annual financial impression of practically $10 billion for native communities.
For a lot of venues, opening at partial capability is not “economically possible,” as a result of excessive overhead prices, the group has mentioned. It additionally expects nationwide tour routing will not be at full steam till artists can tour absolutely at reopened areas.
Whereas homeowners and operators await support, they’re hopeful music and theater lovers shall be able to return in individual later this 12 months, and this system can have sufficient funds to cowl these in want.
Casey Lowdermilk, assistant common supervisor of the Invoice Graham Civic Auditorium in downtown San Francisco, mentioned the venue has gone from 450 workers and 80 concert events a 12 months to zero throughout the board.
“Hopefully, that cash is sufficient and will get to all of the venues that want it in a well timed style,” Lowdermilk mentioned. “And hopefully, by June or July, we’ll have an actual trajectory of once we can return to full capability occasions which can be indoor venues.”
The Unbiased’s Scott is assured demand shall be there, as soon as it is secure to open.
“We’re able to get again to it,” he mentioned. “Folks have been cooped up. We have had some early indicators within the trade, some festivals which have gone on sale, and a few excursions have gone on sale which have all blown out. … I am actually optimistic concerning the demand on the market. And we won’t wait to open our doorways.”
—CNBC’s Whitney Ksiazek contributed to this report.
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