The owner of two live event venues in Wichita testified Tuesday before a Congressional hearing on the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.
Adam Hartke, owner of the Cotillion and WAVE, testified by remote and was one of several witnesses who talked about the negative effects of the pandemic on the live entertainment industry.
Hartke said his businesses received help from the Paycheck Protection Program earlier this year, but the funding ran out in June and since then most of his employees have been furloughed or laid off. He said a survey found that 90 percent of “mom and pop venues” will go under without assistance. He said “Our biggest fear is that we will have to close our doors forever, and the institutions for which we have sacrificed so much will be destroyed.” He is asking Congress to pass extensions of coronavirus relief programs and the Save Our Stages bill.
Kansas Senator Jerry Moran is a co-sponsor of the Save Our Stages Act, authorizing the Small Business Administration to make grants to eligible live venue operators, producers and promoters, offering them a lifeline until they can continue operations. Moran said there is a ripple effect on the economy when the live entertainment industry is out of work, and that affects restaurants, bars, transportation and other businesses.
Moran is chair of the Senate’s Commerce Subcommittee on Manufacturing, Trade and Consumer Protection, which conducted the hearing on Tuesday.
