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Jul 3, 2021
In May 2020, Scott Heron told
Westword that he had put the Skylark Lounge, at 140 South Broadway, on the market for $2.5 million. He wasn t selling because of COVID-19; he was just ready to move on, do some sailing, travel and explore a new career in solar energy.
With the economy crashing at the start of the pandemic, he didn t think there was much of a chance the venue would sell for the next few years. Lucky for Heron who feared the building would be purchased by somebody looking to turn it into a hip, upscale spot or scrape it altogether for more apartments he was wrong.
“The average venue in Colorado right now is bleeding about $45,000 a month, and that s with skeleton crews,” said Levitt Pavilion head Chris Zacher on Tuesday from the stage of his nonprofit amphitheater in Ruby Hill Park. “It s just not sustainable.”
Zacher, who serves as board chair of the Colorado Independent Venue Association and Colorado chair of the National Independent Venue Association, joined United States Senator John Hickenlooper and Colorado musicians, promoters and music-venue managers to speak about how the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant will jump-start the state’s thriving music industry.
“Without us, 20,000 jobs would be lost in the state of Colorado, and that would be devastating to our economy,” Zacher added.