This bill extends to a municipality with a sports authority and a Major League Soccer franchise special sales tax allocations that apply to other major and minor professional sports franchises under present law if certain requirements are met, as discussed below. Present law establishes a general allocation of state sales tax revenue, but also provides for certain special allocations. One such special allocation provides for the apportionment and distribution of certain state sales tax revenue in a municipality with a sports authority that has secured a major league professional baseball (American or National League), football (National Football League or Canadian Football League, or its successors or assigns), basketball (National Basketball Association), or major or minor league professional hockey (National Hockey League, or Central Hockey League or East Coast Hockey League) franchise for that municipality. This special allocation applies if the municipality or any board or instrumentality of the municipality reimburses the state for any costs to reallocate apportionments of the tax revenue under this provision. The amount apportioned and distributed to the municipality is equal to the amount of state tax revenue derived from the sale of admissions to events of the major or minor league professional sports franchise and also the sale of food and drink sold on the premises of the sports facility in conjunction with those games, parking charges, and related services, as well as the sale by the major or minor league professional sports franchise within the county in which the games take place of authorized franchise goods and products associated with the franchise's operations as a professional sports franchise. The amount distributed to the municipality is for the exclusive use of the sports authority, or comparable municipal agency.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 49-6-104, 49-6-107(d), 49-6-107