SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Live Events Industry Association (ULEIA) presented a proposal to the Utah Capitol asking lawmakers for their support in reallocating funds to benefit struggling companies in the industry.

The Association, made up of local business owners and workers, is asking to apply remaining state funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support live events industry.

“The events industry is one of the few industries that is not yet out of the quagmire,” said Shawn Taylor, of Taylor Audio Visual who is also Chairman of the Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee of ULEIA. “We are the people in black behind the scenes who create the magic no one thinks about.”

Taylor says he and his company are once again missing with Sundance’s in-person cancellation.

“The events industry employs a lot of families in the state of Utah and there are a lot of people on the ground who are hurting,” Taylor said. “My biggest concern with losing Sundance is the $50,000. I was going to pay in salary. I worry about my staff, I worry about their families, I worry about them doing their mortgages.

ULEIA hopes that a portion of the funds can be transferred through the legislative process to the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity to administer the funds to local businesses in need.

“2020 was non-existent for me, I was 96% lost revenue,” said Mark Gallegos, owner of Mammoth Audio Visual for over 30 years. “I also did a heloc on my house, you know I didn’t get a dime from the Utah grant and it ran out so quickly.”

The association hopes that the funds can be used to support businesses by being placed in a large program for ongoing operations, rental expenses and the repayment of debt incurred to operate during the pandemic. They also want to use the funds to compensate staff and keep them employed during uncertain times.

“This week we should be loading at the Sundance Film Festival and we’re not,” Taylor said. “The loss of this event is costing my business approximately $100,000 and the big effects are that I now have a dozen employees who were expecting a $5,000 paycheck and won’t get it. “