The Small Business Administration will reopen applications on Saturday for distressed movie theaters, legit playhouses and other live event venues to apply for Covid-19 relief grants.
The application process stalled out earlier this month due to a technical glitch, forcing the SBA to shut down its portal on the first day it was opened, April 8.
Lawmakers had pressed the SBA to fix the problems quickly, given the dire situation for many venues which have been shut down or forced to serious scale back their operations due to the pandemic. The program is called the Shuttered Venue Operators Grants.
Barb Carson the deputy associate administrator of the SBA’s office of disaster assistance, said in a statement, “We recognize the urgency and need to get this program up and running,. With venue operators in danger of closing, every day that passes by is a day that these businesses cannot afford. We remain dedicated to delivering emergency aid as quickly as possible and will begin reviewing the applications on Saturday as they are submitted.”
The SBA said that it had addressed other issues as well, including making documentation more user friendly, improved security mechanisms and updating application features. It also said that it added “an industry-standard waiting room technology to address the high interest in the program and provide an orderly application process for fair and smooth performance.”
Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue up to a maximum amount of $10 million for a single grant. More than $16 billion was allocated for the grant program in Covid-19 relief packages that passed in late December and February.