Nevada entertainment businesses got $121M from federal grant. Here’s where it went

Nevada’s live entertainment business was one of the hardest-hit industries during the pandemic, but some companies received help, thanks to a first-of-its-kind federal grant for venues and nonprofits.

The Small Business Administration released data Tuesday showing 158 venues in Nevada received a combined $121 million, or 1.6 percent, of the estimated $7.6 billion already awarded to venues in the U.S. through the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.

The federal program aims to help live venue operators, museums and other entertainment-related companies by awarding money to cover business expenses such as payroll and rent.

Smith Center CEO and President Myron Martin said in a news release the grant was “meant for places like The Smith Center that employ musicians and entertain local people.”

The performing arts center received $10 million in funding as did Brenden Theaters at the Palms hotel-casino and Life is Beautiful. The three operators were received the largest amount out of the state’s applicants and the maximum amount available to recipients.

The applicants receiving the largest amounts from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant in Nevada are:

■ Brenden Theatre Corp., Las Vegas, $10 million

■ Life is Beautiful LLC, Las Vegas, $10 million

■ The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, $10 million

■ Steve Beyer Productions Inc., Henderson, $7,596,742

■ Galaxy Sparks LLC, Sparks, $6,878,544

■ Meleco LLC, Incline Village, $5,011,547

■ MB BC LLC, Las Vegas, $4,766,523

■ Buggs &Rudy Discount Corp., Las Vegas, $4,761,218

■ SPI Entertainment Inc., Henderson, $3,995,823

■ Galaxy Vegas LLC, North Las Vegas, $3,655,438

Eligible venues

The Shuttered Venue program has more than $16.2 billion allocated for grants, and the SBA said eligible businesses can still apply on SBA’s website for financial help.

Eligible applicants may qualify for grants equal to 45 percent of their gross earned revenue up to a maximum amount of $10 million for a single grant.

The program began accepting applications in April but faced delays and slow processing times.

SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said in a news release that improvements were made and the program is “delivering money quickly, efficiently and fairly to highly impacted small businesses and venue operators.”

It went from awarding over 100 grants on June 10 to more than 10,000 as of July 26. And more than two-thirds of the awards have gone to venues with fewer than 10 employees, according to the SBA.

Contact Subrina Hudson at shudson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0340. Follow @SubrinaH on Twitter.