BILL NUMBER: S9143
SPONSOR: RYAN C
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the economic development law, in relation to establish-
ing the empire state sports and entertainment fund
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
An act to amend the economic development law, .in relation to establish-
ing the empire state sports and entertainment fund.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the economic development law by adding an article 29 to
establish the Empire State Sports and Entertainment Fund, including its
title, a statement of legislative findings, its definitions, eligibility
criteria, application and approval process, powers and duties of the
commissioner, and a records maintenance provision.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State has long been a national leader in sports and enter-
tainment, but competing jurisdictions are increasingly using targeted
financial incentives to attract one-off and touring events that generate
outsized short-term economic activity and long-term visitation. Without
a focused tool to compete for those events, New York risks losing
conventions, tournaments, festivals, and large-scale entertainment
productions - and the local jobs, hotel stays, restaurant sales, and tax
revenues they generate - to other states that actively court them.
The Empire State Sports and Entertainment Fund would create a narrowly
tailored, competitively awarded mechanism that enables New York to
attract events that are truly mobile and competitive, and excludes
recurring resident or "home schedule" events that are not competing
markets (for example, professional teams' regular-season home games).
The bill vests the administering agency with rulemaking authority and
discretion to adopt robust application, certification, and audit proce-
dures, including post-event verification of economic outcomes and record
retention requirements to ensure accountability. These administrative
controls will allow New York to prioritize projects with the strongest
return on investment and to recover funds or deny future eligibility for
noncompliant participants.
If enacted, the Empire State Sports and Entertainment Fund would serve
as that focused, accountable tool that New York needs to compete for
economically impactful sports and entertainment events, while safeguard-
ing workers, taxpayers, and local communities. It would enable the state
to compete on more even footing with other states and localities in in
attracting national and international events that bring critical econom-
ic boosts to the businesses and people of New York.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To Be Determined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.