An Act To Permit the Sharing of Revenue from the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages at Sporting Events
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 1713
Committee Amendment CA_A_S377 (Senate)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 679, L.D. 1713, Bill, "An Act To 
Permit the Sharing of Revenue from the Sale of Alcoholic Beverages at Sporting Events" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the 
following: 
'Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, professional sports teams provide valuable entertainment and economic 
benefits to the communities where they play; and 
Whereas, professional sports teams are valuable partners with civic auditoriums and 
other arenas, which serve as anchor facilities in cities and towns across the State; and 
Whereas, it is vital to ensure that arrangements between professional sports teams 
and civic auditoriums and other large arenas are mutually economically beneficial in 
order to maintain these important relationships, and in order to maximize the benefit this 
legislation needs to take effect as soon as possible; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore,' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 2. 2S-A MRSA §60S is enacted to read: 
§608. Licensees with professional sporting events; revenues from the sale of liquor 
A licensee authorized to sell liquor for on-premises consumption may enter into an 
agreement to share revenues from the sale of liquor with a professional sports team not 
licensed under this Title if: 
1. Capacity. The licensee has a capacity to seat at least 3,000 people; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A "to S.P. 679, L.D. 1713 
2. Licensee is designated host facility. The licensee is the designated host facility 
for the professional sports team. For the purposes of this subsection, "designated host 
facility" means a facility licensed to sell liquor for on-premises consumption, including, 
but not limited to, a civic auditorium or an outdoor stadium where a professional sports 
team conducts at least 75% of its sporting events as the home team in the competition; 
3. Revenues from sales at sporting events only. Revenues to be shared as provided 
by this section between the licensee and the professional sports team are limited to 
revenues from the sale of liquor sold at the time of sporting events conducted by that 
professional sports team; and 
4. 
Application. The licensee discloses any agreement, including any revenue-
sharing provisions pursuant to subsection 3, with a professional sports team permitted 
under this section when submitting an application for a liquor license as required by 
section 651, subsection 2. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause to the bill and 
strikes the requirement that a professional sports team must play at least 15 calendar days 
at a host facility in order to share revenue from liquor sales with the host facility. The 
amendment also provides that the revenue-sharing exception applies to any licensee that 
has the capacity to seat at least 3,000 people and hosts a professional sports team, not just 
licensed civic auditoriums. The amendment also requires that the licensee disclose not 
only the existence of an agreement with the sports team but also the terms of the revenue-
sharing agreement when applying for a liquor license. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT