Hoffman Estates weighs more furloughs for Sears Centre Arena staff
Employee furloughs at the Sears Centre Arena are among the midyear adjustments Hoffman Estates is making to its 2020 budget due to the pandemic, even as the 11,000-seat entertainment venue aims to retain the flexibility to spring back into service whenever possible.
"The arena still has multiple clients under contract for July, and we're making plans for transitioning existing clients into outdoor 'drive-in' experiences," Sears Centre General Manager Ben Gibbs said. "We're still receiving deposits for 2020 events, and some clients have even requested contracts for late 2020. While I don't know if these events can happen, the event industry is clearly eager to get back on the road when it's safe to do so."
A Windy City Bulls game March 10 was the last event hosted by the Sears Centre. A concert scheduled for March 13 was the first event canceled by the pandemic, Gibbs said.
A number of furloughs, pay reductions and full-time job eliminations had been made by April 1, and a three-phased plan to continue them has been worked out if the situation proves long-term.
With food service provider Levy Restaurants having made similar adjustments, costs at the village-owned arena have been reduced to $160,000 per month. But the Sears Centre would lose more than $1.5 million in revenue if all scheduled events were canceled through the rest of the year.
The first phase of further furloughs would involve one full-time and one part-time staff member for a savings of $1,700 per week. A second phase would lose three more employees, with another salary reduction for most directors and the general manager to save $6,500 per week.
A third phase would be considered only if there is no chance of any mass gatherings for a year or more.
"At this time, we don't have immediate plans for further furloughs, but it's obviously something we know is a possibility given the many unknowns as we look to the future," Gibbs said.
As far as the overall village, Hoffman Estates' reserves have benefitted from the last three years being better than anticipated, Village Manager Jim Norris said.
The village began the pandemic with 42.2% of annual operating expenses in reserves, but Norris is recommending reducing that to 30.1%, or $17.9 million, by using them to make up for projected shortfalls in new revenue. This is still above the village's goal of maintaining reserves of 25% of annual costs, he said.
Norris estimates the village's lost revenue at $6.2 million and suggests the village should plan to reduce another $3.5 million in spending.
Those estimates could change as events unfold, Norris added.
Village board members on Monday agreed to save another $52,730 by delaying purchase of two already long-awaited entrance signs for the village hall driveway. One would include an electronic message board.