The Santa Barbara Bowl is continuing to make progress as it battles back from the COVID-19 pandemic that took a heavy toll on its operation, including shutting down the entire 2020 season.
The Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation recently presented its 2021 audit to the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.
According to foundation executive director Rick Boller, 2020 was the first year that the 4,500-seat venue at 1122 N. Milpas St. was closed for an entire season.
“It was a big deal for us,” he said. “We had gone from a place where we were doing 35 performances on average a year, and then just went dark.”
Boller said an average season for the bowl will start in April and run until November. Last year, performances were not held at the bowl until August.
The 2021 season included comedy performances by Chelsea Handler, Jo Koy and Sebastian Maniscalo. Concerts included John Legend, The Lumineers and Glass Animals.
The most popular concert of 2021 at the bowl was Phish with 4,783 spectators and 4,886 tickets sold.
According to the audit, total revenue for the bowl foundation was $10,919,327 in 2021, compared to $3,344,945 in 2020.
The foundation’s operating revenues in 2021 were $3,935,316, compared to $699,943 in 2020 when no performances were held, the report says.
In 2021, the foundation reopened the bowl and hosted 23 concerts from August to November. The audit found that an average of 3,652 people attended the shows that year, slightly less than the pre-pandemic average of 3,847 spectators per performance in 2019.
“Revenue” includes ticket sales, concert club membership, sponsorships, concession stands, contract revenue, additional show fees and parking fees. The bowl generated $988,367 in show revenue in 2021 following zero the year before.
The audit states that nonoperating revenue totaled $3,307,058, a figure that includes a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, a Paycheck Protection Program loan that was forgiven, an Employee Retention Credit, and a grant from the California COVID-19 Relief and Assistance for Small Business program.
The foundation also received a Shuttered Venue Operators Grant that was offered by the Small Business Administration to performance venues during 2020.
In 2021, the foundation spent $1,035,544 on employee salaries, wages and benefits. In 2020, the employee expenditures were $971,233, plus $43,314 on advertising in 2021.
The foundation employs 15 full-time employees who work year-round. During concert season, the nearly 90-year-old outdoor amphitheater hires 275 to 300 employees and volunteers per show.
The foundation spent $2,860,00 on repairs and construction of a retaining wall and drainage improvements following a “hillside failure” in 2019. The construction project for the repairs also included additional storage space.
To make up for the lost year, the Board of Supervisors approved up to 44 shows at the bowl in 2022, with 43 shows held this season.
Boller said the extra shows in 2022 were for a “single year only” and would not continue in subsequent seasons.
He said the bowl generally fundraises for outreach programs that support local youth performing arts programs. During the pandemic, the organization shifted its focus from fundraising to operational support to pay employees and maintain the facility.
“We had never done that before,” Boller said. “But we did fundraise for operations during that downtime.”
“Now that we’re back, we’re doing our performances and we’re able to sustain from the income that is thrown off from the performances, and we’re back to fundraising for the youth performing arts (programs) and facilities upgrades,” he said.
