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American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): Live Event Venues

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American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA): Live Event Venue Operators and Producer/Presenters Program

The Live Event Venue Operators and Live Event Producer/Presenters Program is administered by Business Oregon, the state’s economic development agency. The Oregon legislature allocated Business Oregon federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Funds for the purpose of supporting live event venue operators and live event producers/presenters negatively impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. This Program will provide up to $35 million in grant assistance to qualifying applicants that have experienced financial hardships as an outcome of public health measures necessitated by the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

Please review all available documentation on this page as well as the FAQs prior to contacting program staff.

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The application period for this program in now closed.The Award Recipient list is now available.

To apply for these funds, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the program guidelines​

Eligible entities for the Program are intended to include but are not limited to venue operators or producers/presenters of the following if they meet the Program requirements: 
  • Ticketed live events (music, cultural, and/or community) 
  • Museums with earned revenue from hosting live events
  • Fairgrounds owned and/or operated by non-municipal organizations
  • Cultural venues operated by a federally recognized Indian Tribes based in Oregon, including live performance or event venues on casino grounds
  • Tradeshows
  • Special Event Rental Venues 
  • Fair and Festivals
  • Rodeos
While all eligible organizations are encouraged to apply, the ARPA Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Program for Live Events will prioritize funding for those that have not directly benefitted from previous relief programs, including: 
  • 2020 federal CARES Coronavirus Relief Fund for Cultural Support (CRFCS) administered by Business Oregon/Oregon Cultural Trust
  • 2020 state Business and Cultural Support Program administered by the Department of Administrative Services (DAS)
  • 2021 federal Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration
  • 2021 state Operational Cost Assistance (OCA) program administered by Business Oregon


The application period opened at 8:00 am on April 25, 2022. All applications for funding must be received no later than 4:59 pm on May 16, 2022. You can subscribe to our email updates to be notified of any changes.

Applicants should refer to the Application Checklist ​in the Additional Resources section of the page for a detailed description of all the elements needed to complete the application.

Please note that the program eligibility criteria will be verified by Business Oregon during the review process and that you may be required to provide additional information relevant to the program. Eligibility determinations made by Business Oregon are considered final. Applicants shall be notified of their award status via email. 

Successful applicants will be asked to execute a grant contract and also submit a voluntary demographic questionnaire at the time of contract. Grant contracts shall be administered through the online account created at the time of application.

Successful applicants shall generally receive no less than a $5,000 grant award and no more than a $250,000 grant award. Eligible organizations that operate multiple live event venues may receive up to $750,000 in total. Grant awards from this Program shall not exceed the applicant’s reported loss in revenue from live events in fiscal year 2020 and may be limited by the availability of Program funds.

Business Oregon maintains exclusive authority to determine an applicant’s program eligibility and make final award determinations. ​

Application Open: April 25, 2022, 8:00 am
Application Close: May 16, 2022, 4:59 pm
Review Process Complete/Final Status Notification: mid June 2022 (projected)
Contracts Issued to Successful Applicants: mid/late June 2022 (projected)
Funds Released: contingent upon return of fully signed contracts to Business Oregon. We expect to release the majority of funds by July 2022.​

Tax Questions: Business Oregon, as a state agency, is unable to provide legal or financial advice.  The contact information for the Oregon Department of Revenue who can provide a response to that type of question is: