CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Changes to COVID-19 restrictions for live music performances in West Virginia were not changing much, at least initially, at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, one of the largest performance venues in the Mountain State.
“It’s just still waiting for us to get a little bit farther down the line, but we’re really encouraged by the direction we’re going for sure,” said Patrick Leahy, general manager for the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Starting at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, all types of live music were allowed to resume again in West Virginia “provided that such performances continue to follow all applicable safety guidelines,” Governor Jim Justice announced.
Generally, the guidelines included requirements for social distancing and mask wearing.
More specific instructions were not available as of later Thursday morning.
At the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center, needs for social distancing have cut capacity dramatically.
For large acts, “The limitation on capacity makes it difficult to generate enough revenue on a show and the cost to produce and mount a tour hasn’t gone down,” Leahy said.
Many of the acts that play his facility make stops in West Virginia during tour swings that include other neighboring states which, in many cases, are not as far along as the Mountain State with reopenings.
“We’re not one large state, like the state of Texas or Florida, that may have multiple markets that an act can go and play a string of dates. I think the touring industry’s still waiting for it to be much broader in terms of the amount of locations that they can play,” Leahy told MetroNews.
Some events have been happening at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Meetings were an example.
As of Thursday, a performance from The Avett Brothers was still scheduled for May 13.
During a recent motocross event, tickets were sold in groups of two to keep people away from others.
Similar spectator plans were in the works for the WVSSAC’s 2021 Boys and Girls High School Basketball Tournaments set for late April and early May.
“We’re just happy to be back doing some events in some form or fashion,” Leahy said.