In the News

The Big E received a $9 million grant from the federal Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, the Eastern States Exposition and the U.S. Small Business Administration announced on Monday.

“Knowing that they will eventually embrace what we call the trampoline effect,” said Neal at a media event in the fairgrounds’ Coliseum. “They’ll hit it and bounce right back up.”

Neal, D-Springfield, referred to the difficulty he and others had in getting The Big E the money. Two weeks ago, he discussed it with Robert Nelson, director of the SBA’s Massachusetts District Office, when Nelson was in town to announce a $1.2 million Shuttered Venues Operators Grant Program award for the Springfield Museums.

Nelson told Neal he was “doing cartwheels” on behalf of The Big E.

“Well, we need more cartwheels,” said Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, in his words of thanks to Nelson.

Neal placed the award in the context of the nation’s ongoing recovery from COVID-19.

“This is a good day for the exposition, it’s a good day for West Springfield, it’s a good day for Western Massachusetts.”

Eugene J. Cassidy, Eastern States Exposition president and CEO, said the financial need is great even though The Big E had a successful fair in 2021, drawing more than 1.4 million visitors over its 17 days.

The fairgrounds also hosted the Eastec manufacturing trade show in the weeks following the fair, and on Monday the grounds were hosting a horse show and a dog show.

But the grounds were quiet and dark for all or most of 2020. The Big E, North America’s fifth largest fair, was canceled in 2020. It was the first year without a fair since World War II.

The Eastern States Exposition still has $7.5 million in debt from the shutdown, a significant amount given that it generates only about $21 million a year in revenue, Cassidy said.

“It’s so important for the future of the Eastern States after being dark through the pandemic,” he said. “It represents for the Eastern States a lifeline, an important lifeline for our ability to proceed and our ability to keep generating an economic impact for our region.”

The Big E still hasn’t brought back all its full-time staff. It’s now at 26, down from 30, and staffers took pay cuts, Cassidy said.

The $9 million will pay off the debt and will help fund needed improvements and upgrades, including conference amenities for the next time Eastec is in town.

“This gives us a path into 2022 where we can start planning for the future,” Cassidy said.

The Big E previously received Paycheck Protection Program loans of $1.8 million, which were forgiven, Cassidy said.

The Small Business Administration’s Nelson said 300 venues across the state have received a total of $300 million.

“We are talking about movie theaters, small stages, museums and other cultural institutions that are the fabric of our communities, like the Eastern States,” Nelson said.

The economic impact of the Eastern States Exposition is more than $681 million, Cassidy said. It accounts for 7,506 full-time jobs, resulting in $319 million in personal income; generates 3,500 temporary jobs during The Big E alone; and 1,992 people choose to live in the region because of the exposition’s presence and the attractive employment opportunities, he said.

The growth in income, personal consumption and industry sales spurred on by the fairgrounds contributes in a significant way to Massachusetts tax revenues — $7.2 million in income tax revenue and $9.6 million in sales tax revenue.

State Sen. Adam Gomez, D-Springfield, and and West Springfield Mayor William C. Reichelt also spoke.