SPURS Act
Bill: H.R.9151 | Sponsor: Rep. Gonzales, Tony (R-TX)
Policy area: Sports and Recreation

Summary:
Strengthening Public Undertakings for Retaining Sports Act or the SPURS Act
This bill establishes requirements and conditions with respect to the relocation of professional sports teams.
A professional team may not relocate unless specified conditions apply, including that
The bill sets forth requirements for (1) petition for relocation and for government review; and (2) reimbursement to state and local government for the value of financial assistance received, with an exception.
The bill grants a state or local government a private right of action against a team that violates this 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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