CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) -Music and entertainment is big business in Cuyahoga Council, according to Happy Dog co-owner Sean Watterson, with small clubs playing a big part.
“We generate over a billion dollars of economic activity and we’re responsible for over sixty-one hundred jobs but then seventy-five percent of us lost money last year,” explained Watterson.
Cleveland Ward 4 Councilman Kris Harsh wants to help clubs like Happy Dog, Beachland Ballroom, The Foundry, and Music Box.
“For venues that have a capacity of between one-hundred-and-fifty and seven hundred-and-fifty maximum occupancy, that admission’s tax is four percent. I propose we cut it to zero,” Harsh said about his proposal.
Revenue from clubs between 150 and 700 occupancy generate only one percent of the entertainment tax revenue, most of the money coming from sporting events and bigger venue concerts, taxed at eight percent. So, for small clubs, it’s a big deal.
“For us, it means a lot because our margins are so tight and they have been since COVID,” Watterson explained. “At the Happy Dog, we just say ten or twelve dollars at the door. We don’t add four percent on to that so we’ve been paying that tax, not the fan.”
Not paying that four percent entertainment tax would be a big deal for these small clubs but Councilman Harsh says the city would barely even notice the lost revenue.
“If the Cavs play one more playoff game in Cleveland, they will match the entire annual collection from small venues that I am proposing relief for.”
And with locally owned businesses, the money stays local.
“Why shouldn’t somebody come to the Happy Dog?” Watterson asks rhetorically. “We got music, we got hot dogs with Froot Loops on ‘em, we have tater tots. Anything you want you’re going to find at the Happy Dog. Community is what you’re going to find.”
Council Harsh now looking to protect that community and expects City Council to debate the proposal later this month.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.