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Concertgoers at Mr. Smalls in 2015.
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Arts groups grow frustrated over long wait for Shuttered Venue Operators Grant

Dominique Hildebrand/Post-Gazette

Arts groups grow frustrated over long wait for Shuttered Venue Operators Grant

The U.S. Small Business Administration has begun awarding the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant funds to promoters and venue operators as part of the $16.1 billion relief program signed into law in December.

But, according to the National Independent Venue Association, the process is moving too slow.

“We couldn’t be more grateful that Congress saw fit to provide $16 billion to Save Our Stages, but this untenable wait for the emergency relief has been torturous and damaging to our industry, our employees, and our communities,” Rev. Moose, executive director of NIVA, said in a press release Thursday.

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NIVA, which formed during the pandemic to assist small venues and promoters, is joined by several other arts organizations — the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), the League of Historic American Theatres, the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO), National Independent Talent Organization (NITO), Performing Arts Managers and Agents Coalition (PAMAC) and the Performing Arts Alliance — in calling for the SBA to expedite the process.

Mike Speranzo of Millvale, left, owner of Mr. Smalls Theatre, and Jeremy Caywood of Millvale, right, carry an old church pew down the front steps of the former Millvale United Methodist Church and into a moving truck Wednesday Jan. 2, 2019, in Millvale.
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When the application portal opened in April, after numerous delays, there were 13,783 applications — by movie theaters, live venue operators and promoters, talent representatives, and performing arts organizations — for a total of $11.4 billion in funding.

The grants are slated to be equal to 45 percent of their 2019 gross earned revenue, up to a maximum of $10 million.

The SBA’s latest report, on June 9, indicates that 90 awards had been granted for a total of $127.9 million. Pennsylvania ranks fourth behind California, New York and Illinois in dollars with eight grants totaling $13.8 million, though it does not specify the recipients. The June 3 reported listed 50 awards, so it was an increase of just 40 over the past week.

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The first grants are awarded to entities that suffered a 90 percent-or-greater revenue loss between April and December 2020.

“That’s me. I lost 100,” said Ron “Moondog” Esser, who is hoping to open his Blawnox club Moondog’s in October. “We’re all in the same boat. People are saying, ‘We’re back to normal.’ We’re not back to normal.”

The second batch will reach entities that suffered a 70%-or-greater revenue loss. The third is geared toward entities that suffered a 25 percent -or-greater revenue loss between one quarter of 2019 and the corresponding quarter of 2020.

According to a joint press release from NIVA and the other organizations, “The SBA has now missed its June 9 deadline to grant funds to those businesses suffering 90% or more losses and to begin making grants to the second tier of businesses suffering 70% or more losses.”

The balcony of the restored Roxian Theater on Monday, May 6, 2019, in McKees Rocks. (Andrew Rush/Post-Gazette)
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Moondog’s, Spirit and Mr. Smalls are among the Pittsburgh venues that have applied for the grant and have noted that it would assist them in reopening.

Pittsburgh promoter Brian Drusky, a member of NIVA, told the Post-Gazette in a statement Thursday, “While we are grateful and relieved for the support that was passed in December 2020, it is truly harmful the impacts this delay has on struggling venues. Not only are spirits starting to become broken from the hurdles of being able to apply (which the application initially failed to launch), but the challenges faced due to the lack of funding are critical as events start to return.

He added, “Many venues are relying on this funding to be able to hire back staff, make necessary adjustments to their building to keep patrons feeling comfortable with returning, paying artist deposits, etc. It really puts us in risky and disadvantageous positions as we push to re-open. This funding is emergency funding, so how is it that way if nobody has received it?”

SBA officials were not available for comment on Thursday morning.

This story will be updated.

First Published: June 10, 2021, 4:03 p.m.

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Concertgoers at Mr. Smalls in 2015.  (Dominique Hildebrand/Post-Gazette)
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