LYNN — The Massachusetts Cultural Council awarded the Lynn Auditorium $249,300 in Gaming Mitigation Grant funding last week to help it compete with the Encore Boston Harbor casino.
The state’s Expanded Gaming Act requires casinos in the state to pay a 25 percent tax on gross gaming revenue. Two percent of that tax revenue is allocated directly toward the Council’s Gaming Mitigation Grant, which distributes the funds to local venues and performance centers in close proximity to the casino.
Since Encore opened in 2019, the Lynn Auditorium has received $898,685 in mitigation grant funding from the Council.
“[This grant] will go a long way in helping us compete with the buying power of casinos,” said Community Development Director James Marsh. “We are already working on putting the funding to good use, booking a variety of new acts for our 2023 calendar.”
The council will grant a total of $3,737,400 in casino mitigation funds to 43 performing arts centers across the state this year. Grants range from $5,000 to $250,000, based on each venue’s percentage of touring artist performances and the amount of fees paid to those artists.
Marsh said that the Expanded Gaming Act plays a crucial role in allowing local venues to compete with casinos.
“The legislature was very careful in making sure they did everything they could to level the playing field when it comes to booking and attracting entertainment at municipal-run venues like the Lynn Auditorium,” he said.
Lynn also received more than $400,000 from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission between 2019 and 2021 to cover an expected onslaught of traffic congestion between Everett and Lynn during the casino’s construction.
“We tried to identify something every year with the Gaming Commission to make the case that while it’s in Everett, there would be some effect on roadways and land transportation in Lynn,” city attorney Jim Lamanna said. “roadways would be more congested because of workers heading into Everett on a major construction project like this.”
Lynn Auditorium concerts bring significant revenue to locals bars and restaurants. Richard Sullivan, the general manager of R.F. O’Sullivan’s pub on Central Avenue, said that for some shows the restaurant gets so crowded that he has to send customers to neighboring businesses.
“We kind of try to make sure everyone’s seated,” Sullivan said. “Once you get to full capacity, if we can’t seat the people, we like to send them off to other businesses, you know, there’s Asian Garden, Los Pinos, and all those types of places.”
Lazy Dog Sports Bar owner Tom Dill said that even though his 328 Broadway bar is quite the distance from downtown Lynn, he puts extra staff on shift when there’s a big act at the Auditorium.
“It’s great, it’s extra business you usually wouldn’t have on those days,” he said.
In a written statement, members of the Lynn state delegation expressed their appreciation for the Council’s grant, particularly for its expected effect on local businesses.
Rep. Peter Capano said the funding would help the Lynn Auditorium book “top-notch” acts and act as a catalyst for restaurants and bars in the area.
Rep. Jenny Armini said that the funding would reinforce Lynn’s status as “an important cultural hub for the North Shore.” She called the funding a “win-win” for the city that will drive more people into Lynn to see larger acts.
Sen. Brendan Crighton and Rep. Daniel Cahill echoed these statements, adding that they thought the funding would have a positive impact on Lynn businesses.
Mayor Jared Nicholson, too, said that he thought the funding helped the city attain equal footing with Everett in competition for performers.
“This is an opportunity to achieve equal ground in hosting shows and performers that draw people from here and beyond into the city and to the Lynn Auditorium for entertainment,” Nicholson said. “These events bolster the local economy and showcase all that Lynn has to offer.”
