Pacific Council: Pacific Sports Venue Funding Act

[President Tyrion]

Amended to correct a typo

Pacific Sports Venue Funding Act

Whereas, the Pacific understands the term "professional sports team" to mean a team that is a franchise of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association, or Major League Lacrosse. The leagues are professional sports leagues, and games played between members of the same league are professional sports games. Any other teams, leagues, or games are considered semipro or amateur, with no necessary distinction in this statute.

1. A professional sports team must be listed as a "primary rights holder" to play a home game in that venue. Professional sports teams may apply to the city, county, or other appropriate jurisdiction to receive primary rights.

2. Neither the Pacific Region nor any jurisdiction thereof shall subsidize the construction of a venue whose primary purpose is hosting the professional sports games of a single team without the guarantee of no less than one hundred (100) live sporting events to be scheduled per calendar year.

3. Multiple professional teams from the same league or different professional leagues petitioning to share a venue must satisfy the one hundred (100) game threshold to be eligible for regional funding.

4. The professional sports team(s) that is(are) the primary residents of a venue funded by the Region, or a jurisdiction thereof, may attempt to reach the threshold, if their schedule is insufficient, by inviting semipro and amateur teams. However, the professional sports teams are obligated to meet the scheduling threshold, and a failure to do so will result in seizure of the stadium by the state. The professional, amateur, and semipro sports team(s) may continue to play in the stadium while it is regional property. However, all operating costs plus a 100% fine are billed to the professional sports team which holds the primary rights to play in the stadium at the end of each month, until the schedule for the next calendar year is finalized with the threshold met and any unmet games from the previous calendar year applied to the next season.

Sponsor: TyrionTheImperialist

[President Tyrion]

I'd be interested to hear the sponsor's argument.

Well, public funding for sports venues is an oft-misjudged issue. Generally, cities and smaller jurisdictions pay millions they don't have to aid sports teams who, in a short season, will bring in minimal revenue, and nothing compared to the infrastructure costs of having a stadium there in the first place. Oftentimes, these venues become vanity projects rather than real, economically-sound proposals. As such, I set very high benchmarks for public funding, and I'm making sure jurisdictions don't pay for stadiums which will only host 10 games (in the case of the NFL), or just too few games to justify the cost.

[President Tyrion]

I motion for a final vote.

[President Tyrion]

Nay. I hate sports.

I feel like this would make it more difficult for sports teams to build stadiums...

[President Tyrion]

3 ayes as of now, it seems.

[President Tyrion]

With 4 votes in the affirmative and 0 in the negative, with 1 not voting, this vote is automatically closed as per Executive Order #2.

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[President Tyrion]

x TyrionTheImperialist

[President Tyrion]

Wiki'd