Two entertainment venues in Weld County received Colorado Arts Relief Grant funding. Other venues left asking ‘why not us?’

Greeley’s Union Colony Civic Center sits empty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo courtesy of the Union Colony Civic Center.

By Gabe Allen

Entertainment venues across Colorado have been hit hard by the pandemic. While two in Greeley received much-needed grant funding to stay afloat, others haven’t – and they don’t know why. 

In February, the state’s Colorado Creative Industries announced 123 arts, culture and entertainment organizations would receive funding through the $7.4 million Colorado Arts Relief Grant. The list includes night clubs, dance studios, nonprofit art centers, theaters and museums that have fallen on hard times after a year of cancelled events and shuttered venues.

For many of the grant recipients, the funding will provide a lifeline as restrictions and precautions push their organization further into the red.

“This is definitely more than just a band-aid,” said executive director of the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra Nick Kenney. “It’s two-or three-months operating budget for us.”

But not every venue got that lifeline. 

In a letter to the NoCo Optimist, Colorado Creative Industries staff explained that due to the high volume of applications for the grant, it was only able to fulfill about 25% of the requests. 

“The need for assistance was significantly larger than our capabilities from the provided funds,” staff wrote. 

For many an obvious question loomed: why not us?

Some local business owners expressed frustration with the program, such as Ely Corliss, owner of the Moxi Theater in downtown Greeley. 

In a letter to Colorado Creative Industries director Margaret Hunt, Corliss wrote, “After hearing feedback from many of my peers, both those that have received grants and those that have not, I have no choice but to conclude that this program is picking winners and losers in my industry on the Colorado Front Range moving forward. The pandemic has put the Moxi in a deep and dark hole. Meanwhile, it seems my competitors have just received a huge head start from this program.”

The Moxi met the basic requirements laid out in the grant’s eligibility guidelines, including: 

• Severity of loss or increased expenses 

• Cultural impact 

• Geographic location

The document also said Colorado Creative Industries would prioritize organizations and businesses owned by or that supported historically marginalized communities. 

According to Corliss, Hunt told him the Moxi just missed the cut off. 

(To see a full list of grant recipients, go to https://oedit.colorado.gov/colorado-arts-relief-grant.) 

“Most of our programming at the Moxi literally matches that of organizations like Z2 Entertainment, Larimer Lounge, Globe Hall, Lost Lake, and each of these companies received over $90,000,” Corliss wrote. “All of these organizations I mentioned have direct ties and ownership interests with some of the largest promoters in the country (AEG) and they are my biggest competitors.”

Corliss wasn’t the only independent club owner in Colorado to raise this point. 

According to a report by the Denver Post, Denver-based sound engineer and booker Randall Frazier also expressed frustration. 

“Why don’t we give a half a mil to the biggest corporate whores we can find?” he wrote in a Facebook comment. 

Owner of Denver’s Hi-Dive, Curtis Wallach, also criticized the choice of grant recipients, noting a competitor who tried to buy him out months earlier received more than $300,000. 

How were funds allocated?

The Colorado Arts Relief Grant was created by Senate Bill 20B-001, which was signed into law December 2020. As soon as the bill was passed, the staff at Colorado Creative Industries worked “around the clock” to create the application form, establish selection criteria, gather applications and award funds. In just 63 days, the organization was awarding funds. 

Compared to other agencies, Colorado Creative Industries moved quickly to get money out the door. In contrast, the Small Business Administration, responsible for handling the federal Save Our Stages Act, a $15 billion pot for entertainment venues established in January, still hasn’t implemented an application process. 

The Lyric, an independent movie theater in Fort Collins, received $100,000 in Colorado Arts Relief Act funding. Photo courtesy of The Lyric.

According to a report by The Wrap, the Small Business Administration is working to build the application process from the ground up while making sure it meets all the legal requirements. 

…

Following the backlash, some grant recipients announced they would return excess funding so others in more need could use it. 

Scott and Gwen Campbell, for example, who co-own Globe Hall, Lost Lake Lounge and Larimer Lounge, announced that they would return $70,000 of the $270,000 that was awarded to their venues, according to the Post. 

Thanks to those efforts, about $14,000 of the funding the Cambells returned went to the Moxi. 

Corliss still isn’t satisfied with what he calls a lack of transparency in Colorado Creative Industries’ selection process. 

According to Colorado Creative Industries guidelines, its evaluation of each organization hinged on its loss of revenue due to COVID-19. 

As Colorado Creative Industries sees it, the grant program suffered not from an unfair selection process, but simply from a lack of funding.

“The need was extremely high, and we felt we were able to allocate the funds as equitably as possible around the state given the amount of relief funds provided. We recognize that the amount provided was not enough to meet the demand of all those who have been impacted by the pandemic,” Colorado Creative Industries staff wrote.

Despite the controversy, the Colorado Arts Relief Grant has already made a difference for some in Greeley and around the state. In addition to the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, the Union Colony Civic Center was also awarded $50,000.

“This was absolutely life saving,” Kenney said.

As the summer approaches, the true devastation to live entertainment will be felt by the doors left closed. But many doors will reopen as well. On Friday, the Union Colony Civic Center will host an in-person event for the first time in many months – Bandwagon Magazine’s 2021 Battle of the Bands.