Neal S. Blaisdell Center's arena can accommodate 7,700 seats for sporting events, and up to 8,800 seats for stage events. | Wikimedia Commons
Neal S. Blaisdell Center's arena can accommodate 7,700 seats for sporting events, and up to 8,800 seats for stage events. | Wikimedia Commons
One of the most heavily impacted industries during the COVID-19 pandemic has been entertainment venues.
During the pandemic, any location that facilitated the mass gathering of people was considered to be a public health hazard. These venues, which typically hosted live events, were shuttered for months, losing out on millions in revenue. One such venue is the Neal S. Blaisdell Center in Honolulu.
To help offset the losses incurred during the pandemic for these venues, the federal government established the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program with a budget of $16 billion -- $7.6 billion of which has already been given away -- to provide grants to affected establishments, according to Hawaii Public Radio. The Blaisdell Center will be receiving $3 million in funds to help compensate it for its losses suffered during the pandemic.
In a July 30 Facebook post, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) made the announcement: "Good news: The Blaisdell Center is set to receive more than $3 million in federal COVID-19 relief funding. The pandemic has been particularly brutal for live venues that depend on people being able to gather in person. This funding will help the center recover lost revenue and get back on track."
The Blaisdell Center was shut down in March of 2020. It has since been used to host everything from COVID-19 testing sites to farmers markets to mass vaccination clinics.
The funds that it is receiving "will be used to address the Blaisdell Center’s health and safety needs, facility repairs and improvements, equipment upgrades and operational cost recovery," according to Hawaii Public Radio.
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