[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9151 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9151
To establish certain conditions and requirements relating to the
relocation of professional sports teams, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 7, 2022
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish certain conditions and requirements relating to the
relocation of professional sports teams, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Public Undertakings
for Retaining Sports Act'' or the ``SPURS Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The name of a professional sports team always is linked
to the name of the community in which the team is located.
(2) Communities, sports fans, and taxpayers make a
substantial and valuable financial, psychological, and
emotional investment in professional sports teams and names of
teams.
(3) Communities receive substantial tax revenues and
employment opportunities from the operation of professional
sports teams.
(4) The public, through a municipal stadium or arena
authority (which may be a city or county agency or a municipal
corporation), often authorizes capital construction bonds to
build a stadium or arena for a professional sports team, while
the lease or use agreement generally sets rent to cover only
operating costs of the stadium or arena without reimbursing the
public for construction costs.
(5) A professional sports team that wishes to relocate the
operations of the team to another area should take into account
the social and community needs of the community in which the
team operates.
(6) Professional sports teams promote civic pride and
generate jobs, revenue, and other local economic development.
(7) Professional sports teams remain in communities for
generations and represent much more than a business.
(8) Current law does not protect the rights of sports fans
or the interests of communities when professional sports teams
decide to relocate.
(9) Owners of professional sports teams have opportunities
to extract enormous benefits from communities and owners take
advantage of those opportunities.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON RELOCATION.
A professional sports team may not relocate unless each of the
following conditions is met:
(1) One or more of the parties, other than the professional
sports team, to the stadium or arena lease agreement of the
professional sports team has failed to comply with a provision
of material significance to such stadium or arena lease
agreement and such failure to comply cannot be remedied within
a reasonable period of time.
(2) The stadium or arena in which the professional sports
team plays regular season and playoff home games is inadequate
for the purposes of properly and competitively operating the
professional sports team, and the entity that owns or operates
such stadium or arena has failed to demonstrate intent to
remedy the inadequacy of such stadium or arena within a
reasonable period of time.
(3) The professional sports team has incurred an annual net
loss for not fewer than five years prior to the proposed
relocation.
(4) The government authority that is party to the stadium
or arena lease agreement described in paragraph (1) has not
made a formal objection to the proposed relocation by the date
that is 1 year after the date on which an owner of the
professional sports team submits a petition for relocation
under section 5(a).
SEC. 4. RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL.
In any case in which an owner of a professional sports team submits
a petition for relocation under section 5(a), such owner shall, until
the date that is 1 year after the date on which such owner submits such
petition, offer the professional sports team for sale at fair market
value to other persons who would not relocate the professional sports
team before such petition may be approved.
SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR RELOCATION.
(a) Petition for Relocation.--An owner of a professional sports
team who intends to relocate the professional sports team shall submit
a petition for relocation as follows:
(1) Such owner shall submit such petition to the government
authority that is party to the stadium or arena lease agreement
described in section 3(1) at least 1 year before the proposed
relocation may be approved by such government authority under
subsection (b).
(2) Such petition shall be in writing and sent by certified
mail or delivered to such government authority personally.
(3) Such petition shall contain the following:
(A) A statement detailing the intent to relocate,
the conditions justifying the proposed relocation, and
the new location.
(B) Documentation that supports the existence of
the conditions justifying the proposed relocation.
(C) The date on which the owner of the professional
sports team intends for the proposed relocation to
occur.
(b) Review by Government Authority.--
(1) Review.--An owner of a professional sports team may not
relocate the professional sports team unless a petition for the
relocation of the professional sports team submitted under
subsection (a) has been formally approved by the government
authority in writing.
(2) Deadline for action.--A government authority to which a
petition is submitted under subsection (a) shall approve or
deny such petition not later than 180 days after the date on
which such petition is submitted.
SEC. 6. REQUIRED REIMBURSEMENT TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR VALUE
OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE RECEIVED.
(a) Required Reimbursement.--If an owner of a professional sports
team relocates such professional sports team from one stadium or arena
to another stadium or arena (including a stadium or arena located in
the same metropolitan area in which the previous stadium or arena is
located) and, in so relocating such professional sports team, such
owner breaches a contract with a State or local government with respect
to use of the previous stadium or arena, such owner shall (not later
than 30 days after the date on which such professional sports team
plays the first regular season home game in the new stadium or arena)
pay to such State or local government an amount equal to the value of
any financial assistance provided to such professional sports team by
such State or local government.
(b) Exception.--The requirement described in subsection (a) does
not apply to a breach of a contract that provides as a remedy for such
breach recovery of any financial assistance provided to the
professional sports team by the State or local government.
(c) Penalty.--An owner of a professional sports team that fails to
meet the requirement described in subsection (a) is liable in a civil
action under section 7 to the State or local government that provided
to the professional sports team the financial assistance described in
such subsection for damages in an amount equal to three times the value
of such financial assistance.
SEC. 7. PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION BY STATE OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
A State or local government may bring a civil action in an
appropriate district court of the United States against a professional
sports team that violates section 3 or an owner of a professional
sports team that violates section 4, 5, or 6 to obtain damages, if--
(1) the State or local government has provided, or has been
requested to provide, financial assistance, including tax
abatement, to the professional sports team or the existing or
proposed stadium or arena in which the professional sports team
plays or is proposed to play regular season and playoff home
games; or
(2) the jurisdiction of the State or local government
includes or is included within, in whole or in part, the
metropolitan area in which the professional sports team plays
regular season and playoff home games.
SEC. 8. APPLICABILITY.
Sections 3, 4, and 5 only apply with respect to a professional
sports team that has a stadium or arena lease agreement with a
government authority.
SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Financial assistance.--The term ``financial
assistance'' includes special tax treatment and financing of a
stadium or arena in which a professional sports team plays
regular season and playoff home games.
(2) Government authority.--The term ``government
authority'' means any unit of local government or other
government agency or authority that--
(A) owns, operates, or has a financial interest in
a stadium or arena used by a professional sports team
to play regular season and playoff home games; or
(B) exercises regulatory authority with respect to
a professional sports team.
(3) Professional sports team.--The term ``professional
sports team'' means a major league team in an organized
professional sport.
(4) Relocate.--The term ``relocate'' means--
(A) to move the location in which a professional
sports team plays regular season and playoff home games
from a metropolitan area to a different metropolitan
area; or
(B) to move such location within a metropolitan
area if the professional sports team falls under the
jurisdiction of a different government authority.
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