Large entertainment venues losing big - Face high maintenance fees despite not hosting events

The entertainment industry has been shut down for 10 months since Jamaica recorded its first case of COVID-19 in March.

It is quite possible that a major entertainment event will not be held until well after the first quarter of 2021.

Still, venues used for these large events are still incurring high maintenance costs during lockdown, despite not hosting any events.

In an interview with THE WEEKEND STAR, Carla Myrie, acting general manager of the Nature Preservation Foundation, which oversees the daily operations of the Hope Royal Botanical Gardens, said it costs approximately J$12 million per month to keep the venue running.

"Financial support is vital in keeping the grounds aesthetically pleasing for our patrons. We receive a monthly subvention from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, which is primarily to assist with salaries, but we also rely heavily on revenues from rental of the event spaces, our plant nursery as well as donations from both private and corporate entities to maintain the facilities for our patrons," she said. "We, therefore, continue to seek funding from various entities, funding agencies and individuals to assist us in maintaining the grounds and are looking forward to the reopening of the entertainment sector with great anticipation."

Myrie said since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue has had to put its staff on a 'three-day compressed work week' to avoid lay-offs.

REVENUE LOSSES

She said the venue has lost approximately J$9 million in revenue that would have been generated from some 20 events that were scheduled to be held there. Renting the venue for medium to large entertainment events can be as much as J$600,000.

Sabina Park would usually host major events, including the widely popular I Love Soca. Sabina Holdings Limited's CEO Anthony Walter told THE WEEKEND STAR that annually, it takes about J$60 million to keep the venue fully operational.

"Because of the potential for health concerns we really haven't had an event since February, and we usually look to host at least two events per month, and we're now in month 10, and so you can easily check how many events we've lost out on because of the fundamental inactivity," he said. Walter explained that the cost to rent the space for an event depends on the activity.

"But essentially the loss is in the millions of dollars. We are looking forward to the reopening of the sector with high levels of anticipation and excitement, but for now, we are just trying to survive as long as we possibly can to make sure that we are ready in case something comes up," he said.

Owner and operator of Mas Camp, Michael Ammar, revealed that since March, the venue has lost out on about three events per month with the rental price in the region of approximately J$250,000.

"We have salaries and everything that we still have to pay to staff who are on-site seeing to the upkeep of the property every day. It probably costs a few hundred thousand per month to maintain, but still, there is nothing we can do about the situation really," he said. "We just have to just do what we can with the cash we have on hand. We really can't argue about how things are going because that would be irresponsible of us. Reality is some of us (venue operators) have other jobs. Thousands of people, including the party promoters we rent to, do not have that option and it's for their sake that we hope we can get a reprieve soon."