FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO): The spread of COVID-19, and subsequent shutdowns of things like concerts and sporting events, will make 2020 a rough year for the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

“This is going to be an ugly year, there’s just no other way to put it,” says General Manager Randy Brown, who tells WOWO News the impact will be big:

“We are, at this point, projecting a loss somewhere between $500,000 and $750,000.”

Things have been up-and-down, financially, for the Coliseum recently: it went from $191,000 in the hole in 2018 to having a small surplus last year. Brown says the Coliseum has only had a deficit four times in the 32 years he’s been involved, and he’s hoping to regain some lost momentum if Governor Holcomb’s “Back on Track” plan goes smoothly.

“We are still selling tickets for concerts and rescheduled events, and we are still waiting to announce some rescheduled dates for a number of concerts. We’ve canceled and rescheduled some of these concerts two or three times already.”