Loan site troubles frustrate venues
Thursday at noon, theater, music hall and other live-event venue operators, both locally and across the country, sat prepared with their applications to secure loans from the federal government’s $16 billion dollar relief fund, run by the Small Business Administration.
Unfortunately, the website would not work, sending the thousands of arts organizations who have had been dealt severe financial blows during the past year into a state of frustration.
According to Jon Elbaum, executive director of Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, the portal, which was supposed to open at noon ended up opening at around 1 p.m.
“It kept bumping us out,” said Elbaum on Friday. “And others. We were in constant communication with others who were trying to apply as well. And then we kept trying for about four hours, and then around four o’clock to 4:30, the SBA took the site down to try and fix things.”
Philip Morris, CEO of Proctors, had a similar experience.
“We were prepared to be successful,” he said. “So, it was a it was a sad moment where we realized we had to wait until the repair.”
There is no rescheduled time yet for the SBA loan application site to be relaunched.
Preparing the application itself was difficult, said Elbaum, adding that he didn’t have much faith in the SBA.
“It’s a very, very long and complicated application,” he said. “And there’s contradictory information on their user guide and in the frequently asked question guide that they’ve issued. And we’ve all been trying to get clarification on that. It’s a very complex program. I’m not sure the SBA has the skill set to implement it. I hope they do.”
The loan is seen as vital for small event and cultural venues across the country. If selected, applicants will receive grants which would amount to 45 percent of their gross earned revenue from 2019, up to $10 million. Businesses that lost 90 percent of their revenue, compared to the previous year after the pandemic spread, would get a 14-day priority window for receiving the money, followed by another 14-day period for those who lost 70 percent or more. Any remaining funds would go to applicants with a 25 percent loss in sales in at least one quarter of 2020.
According to Elbaum, the loan would have been very helpful to the music hall. They have been closed for over a year and have lost over a million dollars in revenue, he said.
“We were very much hoping to get funded,” Elbaum said. “I am still concerned that there is not enough money allocated for the program to satisfy all of the demand for all of the arts organizations who’ve been hurt in this in the pandemic. You know, we’re gonna keep trying.”