Hartford Business Journal

of its overall financial outlook and ending its 20-year legacy of debt, which began in 2001 when it took on a $20-million loan to complete a $45-million capital improvement project, which included construction of the 900-seat Belding Theater and numerous other amenity upgrades. Of the initial loan, $5 million was short-term debt from Webster Bank, which was paid off in eight years. But the remaining $15 million in debt, financed by the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, was more of a challenge to manage, especially following the Great Reces- sion of 2008 and 2009. The Bushnell refinanced its debt in 2012 to a fixed rate of 3.3%. At its peak, The Bushnell was making $1.2 million in annual debt payments. When the short-term debt was paid off, annual payments dropped to $700,000. As a result of the most recent refi- nancing, The Bushnell's annual debt payment for the next decade will be "in the mid-$600,000s," Fay said. Last year's plan was to pay off the remaining debt before it matured in March 2022, perhaps as early as this year. For that to happen there needed to be a boost in fundraising and budget surpluses, which was plausible given that the blockbuster musical "Hamilton" was scheduled to re- turn to Hartford this December, bringing with it much fanfare. That didn't happen and those antici- pated surpluses are now a distant dream after the COVID- related shutdown in March canceled touring across America, including in Hartford. The Bushnell hasn't hosted a show in about eight months and recently announced that its Broadway shows scheduled through Aug. 1, 2021, have been postponed. The pandemic forced The Bushnell to cancel and/or reschedule myriad Broadway musicals this year, includ- ing "My Fair Lady," "Mean Girls," and "Hamilton." It ended its 2020 fiscal year on June 30, with a $2.4-million deficit, accord- ing to its annual report. The good news, Fay said, was that individual contributions remained steady and came within $28,000 of budget, otherwise the deficit would have been considerably larger. The Bushnell, which also received a Paycheck Protection Program loan between $1 million to $2 million, had to make other hard financial choices this year, including implementing large-scale layoffs and furloughs that reduced its 250 to 300 full-time equiv- alent staff to around 30 employees. "And all of our management team took a substantial salary cut," Fay said. "I took a cut of more than 30%, almost 40%." The Bushnell also used unrestrict- ed funds in its $25-million endow- ment to pay down and refinance its debt. The endowment now has $20 million left. Fay said he anticipates another seven-figure deficit in the current fis- cal year. That could change depend- ing on how much of the theater's PPP loan is forgiven and whether there is additional help from the federal government or state, which recently launched a $9-million grant program for the arts and culture industry. "We have begun to talk to some of our donors and they have been responding positively to a special 'COVID relief campaign,' which we're just starting to look into doing," Fay said. "With the market doing as well as it has, some of our donors have stepped up to help." Fay said he is "more than cautiously optimistic" that The Bushnell will be "up and running" by the spring, sum- mer or fall of 2021, offering some type of entertainment for guests. 24 Hartford Business Journal • November 30, 2020 • www.HartfordBusiness.com Quality Construction Builds Repeat Customers www.borghesibuilding.com © 2011 BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. All rights reserved. Butler Manufacturing™ is a division of BlueScope Buildings North America, Inc. 2155 East Main Street • Torrington, Connecticut 06790 Mozzicato Retail, Rocky Hill, CT | 2014 | Renovation — 6,000 sq. ft. Contact us at 860-482-7613 or visit us on the web. Mozzicato Bakery/Retail, Plainville, CT 2010 | 4,700 sq. ft. Farmington Bank, Plainville, CT 2010 | 2,700 sq. ft. ARTS BIZ >> Arts Biz continued The Bushnell posts $2.4M loss in fiscal 2020 REVEVNUES Theater & other earned revenue $8,379,300 Contributed support $5,998,539 Investment earnings $411,063 Total $14,788,902 EXPENSES Performance & related expenses $8,768,237 Building & other operating expenses $4,419,465 General & administration expenses $2,558,106 Fundraising costs $1,474,720 Total $17,220,528 BOTTOM LINE -$2,431,626 Source: The Bushnell's 2020 Annual Report The Blue Man Group has been a popular performance at The Bushnell.

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