By Jana Wiersema
With the rules for public and private events in constant flux due to COVID-19, the Commons has seen a difficult six months.
The Commons is estimated to lose a little over $64,000 in 2020 due to event cancellations since the start of the pandemic, according to a recent event revenue calendar. For the year as a whole, estimated event revenue is $87,522.50.
Pam Harrell, director of business services for the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, said that while The Commons worked to reschedule events whenever possible, there were still instances where they had to give refunds.
However, despite these losses, Commons manager Shanda Sasse said at a recent Commons Board meeting that the facility has recently seen bookings for jury selections and church services, as well as “one-off” events.
During the month of August, there were 10 rental events and about 900 attendees overall. For the year to date, there have been 170 events and 13,406 guests overall.
“The need is still there,” Sasse said. “We’re happy to accommodate that. It’s just a little bit less when it comes to the numbers. Now that being said, for 2021, the Saturdays are actually filling up fairly quickly. So people are still asking about wedding receptions and things later in next year. I got a request this morning for 2022, so people are definitely thinking ahead.”
At the moment, The Commons is only open for rental events. It is set to reopen to the public once Indiana enters Stage 5 of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s reopening plan. Stage 4.5 is estimated to last until at least Sept. 25.
For more on this story, see Thursday’s Republic.
