YOUNGSTOWN — The COVID-19 pandemic virtually shut down the Covelli Centre and the Youngstown Foundation Amphitheatre for more than nine months in 2020, but the city-owned facilities managed to finish the year with a $10,915 operating surplus.

The surplus is because JAC Management Group, which operates the two facilities, received $353,310.59 from the federal Paycheck Protection Program to cover payroll and benefits as well as utility costs, Eric Ryan, its president, said.

“If you had told me last April that we’d make a little money in 2020, I would have said you were nuts,” he said. “It was a miracle. We’re very, very thankful we were able to get through the year.”

JAC qualified for the money with 100 percent forgiveness because the center and amphitheater were under a state government mandate to close for several months, Ryan said.

The two locations were closed from mid-March to mid-September because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were permitted to reopen with crowds of up to 1,500 and currently can operate at 30 percent capacity. But that’s only 1,800 for the Covelli Centre, and it cannot turn a profit on events there with that number, Ryan said.

The only events held at the center since the middle of March 2020 have been Youngstown Phantoms hockey games, the Men’s Rally in the Valley on Oct. 10, and ice hockey and figure skating rentals. The center also has had a few city-sponsored and charity events and is being used as a COVID-19 vaccination clinic by the city health district, which started Thursday.

The facilities have had an annual operating profit since JAC took over management of the Covelli Centre in 2008. The center opened in October 2005. The amphitheater didn’t open until June 2019.

Last year wasn’t even the worst for operating surplus with only a $2,247 made in 2017.

The best year was 2014 with $485,234. The second best year was 2016 with $435,183 and the third best year was 2019 with $412,684.

The facilities also generated $115,815 last year from a 5.5 percent admission tax on tickets for events there, Kyle Miasek, city finance director, said. Virtually all of it was from pre-pandemic events from January to mid-March.

“The administration and council are happy the city didn’t have to subsidize the operations of the Covelli Centre or the amphitheater,” Miasek said. “That’s the most important thing given the circumstances. I’m sure there are many facilities throughout the country that didn’t have an operating surplus last year.”

Year-end figures weren’t available until now because of the use of an outside auditor to review the annual figures and JAC was waiting for federal approval for forgiveness on the PPP money, Ryan said.

2021 OUTLOOK

The first quarter of this year ended Wednesday and while Ryan doesn’t have those financial figures yet, he said it was a bad three months.

The latest $1.9 trillion federal COVID-19 stimulus package included about $17 billion in funding for entertainment venues through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, originally called the Save Our Stages Act.

Applications for the funding begin next week and Ryan said JAC will seek money from it.

“How 2021 looks financially depends on Save Our Stages,” he said. “We’re continuously postponing acts we had booked from last year. It’s like spinning our wheels until the governor announces when the restrictions are lifted. He’s said very little about our industry. We’d like a tentative opening date.”

JAC is working on a summer season at the amphitheater and hoping indoor events with larger crowds can be held in the fall at the center, Ryan said.

“We’re hoping they lift the outdoor restrictions soon,” he said. “This will be another lean year, but it’s out of our control.”

FINANCING

The city borrowed $11.9 million in 2005 to pay its portion of building the $45 million Covelli Centre, of which it still owes $6.56 million in principal after making a $900,000 payment last year.

The city paid nothing in principal until 2011.

Youngstown also borrowed $4 million in 2018 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to pay for the $8 million amphitheater. The rest of the money came from naming-rights deals.

The city is repaying that loan over 20 years, starting in 2020. With interest, those annual payments are $205,180.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com