Civic center seeks grant to regain funds lost to COVID-19

Jun. 16—Muskogee Civic Center operators hope a federal grant could help to recoup thousands of dollars in revenue lost during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Center manager John Cruz said he is seeking a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) through the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SVOG program was established by the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act, and amended by the American Rescue Plan Act.

"The entertainment industry was one of the industries hurt the most from COVID, because all the places closed for events," Cruz said.

He said it's hard to estimate how much revenue the center lost from when it was closed.

"Maybe we're talking about $150,000," Cruz said.

Cruz said the Civic Center makes most of its money through private rentals for banquets and parties. He said that over three years, before the pandemic hit, the center went from 60 events a year to 300 events.

"This year, we had scheduled over 400 private events, but we had to cancel 175 events," he said. "Between 150 events got postponed or canceled completely... from March 2020 to March 2021."

Those events included crowd-drawing events such as the Shrine Circus, gun shows, bull riding and the Bedouin Shrine Classic basketball tournament.

The Civic Center reopened in April after being shuttered since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Early public events, such as the Circus on Ice on April 18 were limited to one-third Civic Center capacity.

Cruz said in April that the Civic Center began getting calls about private and public events immediately after Muskogee lifted its mask mandate on March 22.

EPIC Charter Schools rented the four rooms in the Civic Center for 60 days earlier this year to conduct state testing, Cruz said.

"That actually helped us survive a little bit of the hard time," he said.

School banquets, including Muskogee Public Schools Superintendent's Academic Honors Banquet, are among the larger private rentals. The banquet was not held in 2020 but resumed in 2021.The Eastern Oklahoma State Spelling Bee was a public city-supported event, Cruz said.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration's website, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant includes more than $16 billion in grants to venue operators including concert venues, performing arts venues, movie theaters and museums hurt during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equalling 45 percent of their gross earned revenue, according to the website.

Cruz said the center could qualify for up to $87,000 through the SVOG. He said the application could take months.

"If we get it, we could put it to use right away," he said.

In the meantime, the center continues to schedule and host private events or public concerts.

Upcoming events include the Scott Haggard concert on Saturday, a boxing match and wrestling, Cruz said.