LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- More than 130 major events booked in Louisville for 2020 have been canceled, costing the city an estimated $164 million in lost revenue.
Louisville Tourism tracks the coronavirus hits by the day. Three of the city's top four money-makers are canceled: Skills USA, the Mid-America Trucking Show and the Vex Robotics Championships.
Each generates north of a projected $24 million.
Music festivals going silent will hurt too. The Forecastle Festival, Hometown Rising, Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than life bring in a combined $22 million, according to Louisville Tourism officials
"It has temporarily gutted the tourism economy," said Stacey Yates, vice president of marketing and communications for Louisville Tourism. "It's amazing what it has done to this industry."
Louisville Metro Councilwoman Paula McCraney has felt the COVID-19 pandemic from three sides: she tested positive, she's owns a boutique that specializes in Kentucky Derby hats, and as a member of the Metro Council Budget Committee, she's now working on a spending plan to fill a $65 million hole in the city budget due to lost tax revenue.
"The money is just not there," she said. "It's depleted, and so we're looking at the safety and health of every citizen in this community, so that's where the dollars are going. Meals for seniors, protecting our citizens, making sure our police, fire and EMS are fully-staffed, and there is just no extra."
The tourism losses will certainly add to that shortfall, and the current projections don't yet include Kentucky Derby weekend or Thunder Over Louisville, which are both postponed for now. Those two events generate a projected $416 million according to Yates. Even if they happen, analysts will expect far less than that. If they don't happen at all, the hit would be monumental.
"I think what keeps us all up at night right now is just the fluidity of this and the the unknown," Yates said. "And it seems like information changes daily."
Yates said tourism staff has been able to reschedule 53 events totaling $64 million, but they're rescheduled far down the road. For example, the American Legion conference scheduled for Louisville in 2020 re-booked for 2026.
The long-term effects hit jobs in places like restaurants, bars and hotels, meaning many furloughed and laid off workers may not return. At last check, more than 500,000 people in Kentucky have filed for unemployment. Despite troubles processing claims, the state has paid out about $1 billion.
"We're going to have to pull together so that we can all survive this," McCraney said.
McCarney seeing the fallout from the virus on all ends, but she hopes that like she has, the city will heal.
"I'm not quite 100%, but I feel 100% better," she said.
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