[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1625 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1625

To provide for the fair consideration of professional sports franchise 
                  relocations, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 19, 1996

  Mr. Specter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the fair consideration of professional sports franchise 
                  relocations, 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 ``Professional Sports Franchise 
Relocation Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) professional sports teams foster a strong local 
        identity with the people of the cities and regions in which 
        they are located, providing a source of civic pride for their 
        supporters;
            (2) professional sports teams provide employment 
        opportunities, revenues, and a valuable form of entertainment 
        for the cities and regions in which they are located;
            (3) in many communities, there are significant public 
        investments associated with professional sports facilities;
            (4) it is in the public interest to encourage professional 
        sports leagues to operate under policies that promote stability 
        among their member teams and to promote the equitable 
        resolution of disputes arising from the proposed relocation of 
        professional sports teams; and
            (5) professional sports teams travel in interstate commerce 
        to compete, and utilize materials shipped in interstate 
        commerce, and professional sports games are broadcast 
        nationally.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``antitrust laws'' shall have the meaning 
        given to such term in the first section of the Clayton Act (15 
        U.S.C. 12) and in the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
        41 et seq.);
            (2) the term ``home territory'' means the geographic area 
        within which a member team operates and plays the majority of 
        its home games, as defined in the governing agreement or 
        agreements of the relevant league on July 1, 1995, or upon the 
        commencement of operations of any league after such date;
            (3) the term ``interested party'' includes--
                    (A) any local government that has provided 
                financial assistance, including tax abatement, to the 
                facilities in which the team plays;
                    (B) a representative of the local government for 
                the locality in which a member team's stadium or arena 
                is located;
                    (C) a member team;
                    (D) the owner or operator of a stadium or arena of 
                a member team; and
                    (E) any other affected party, as designated by the 
                relevant league;
            (4) the term ``local government'' means a city, county, 
        parish, town, township, village, or any other general 
        governmental unit established under State law;
            (5) the terms ``member team'' and ``team'' mean any team of 
        professional athletes--
                    (A) organized to play major league football, 
                basketball, or hockey; and
                    (B) that is a member of a professional sports 
                league;
            (6) the term ``person'' means any individual, partnership, 
        corporation, or unincorporated association, any combination or 
        association thereof, or any political subdivision;
            (7) the terms ``professional sports league'' and ``league'' 
        mean an association that--
                    (A) is composed of 2 or more member teams;
                    (B) regulates the contests and exhibitions of its 
                member teams; and
                    (C) has been engaged in competition in a particular 
                sport for more than 7 years; and
            (8) the terms ``stadium'' and ``arena'' mean the principal 
        facility within which a member team plays the majority of its 
        home games.

SEC. 4. ACTIONS AUTHORIZED.

    The antitrust laws shall not apply to a professional sports 
league's enforcement or application of a rule authorizing the 
membership of the league to decide whether or not a member team of such 
league may be relocated.

SEC. 5. PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Notice.--
            (1) In general.--Any person seeking to change the home 
        territory of a member team shall furnish notice of such 
        proposed change not later than 210 days before the commencement 
        of the season in which the member team is to play in such other 
        location.
            (2) Requirements.--The notice shall--
                    (A) be in writing and delivered in person or by 
                certified mail to all interested parties;
                    (B) be made available to the news media;
                    (C) be published in one or more newspapers of 
                general circulation within the member team's home 
                territory; and
                    (D) contain--
                            (i) an identification of the proposed new 
                        location of such member team;
                            (ii) a summary of the reasons for the 
                        change in home territory based on the criteria 
                        listed in subsection (b)(2); and
                            (iii) the date on which the proposed change 
                        would become effective.
    (b) Procedures.--
            (1) Establishment.--Prior to making a decision to approve 
        or disapprove the relocation of a member team, a professional 
        sports league shall establish applicable rules and procedures, 
        including criteria and factors to be considered by the league 
        in making decisions, which shall be available upon request to 
        any interested party.
            (2) Criteria to be considered.--The criteria and factors to 
        be considered shall include--
                    (A) the extent to which fan loyalty to and support 
                for the team has been demonstrated during the team's 
                tenure in the community;
                    (B) the degree to which the team has engaged in 
                good faith negotiations with appropriate persons 
                concerning terms and conditions under which the team 
                would continue to play its games in the community or 
                elsewhere within its home territory;
                    (C) the degree to which the ownership or management 
                of the team has contributed to any circumstance that 
                might demonstrate the need for the relocation;
                    (D) the extent to which the team, directly or 
                indirectly, received public financial support by means 
                of any publicly financed playing facility, special tax 
                treatment, or any other form of public financial 
                support;
                    (E) the adequacy of the stadium or arena in which 
                the team played its home games in the previous season, 
                and the willingness of the stadium, arena authority, or 
                local government to remedy any deficiencies in the 
                facility;
                    (F) whether the team has incurred net operating 
                losses, exclusive of depreciation or amortization, 
                sufficient to threaten the continued financial 
                viability of the team;
                    (G) whether any other team in the league is located 
                in the community in which the team is located;
                    (H) whether the team proposes to relocate to a 
                community in which no other team in the league is 
                located;
                    (I) whether the stadium authority, if public, is 
                opposed to the relocation; and
                    (J) any other criteria considered appropriate by 
                the professional sports league.
    (c) Hearings.--In making a determination with respect to the 
location of such member team's home territory, the professional sports 
league shall conduct a hearing at which interested parties shall be 
afforded an opportunity to submit written testimony and exhibits. The 
league shall keep a record of all such proceedings.

SEC. 6. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

    (a) In General.--A decision by a professional sports league to 
approve or disapprove the relocation of a member team may be reviewed 
in a civil action brought by an interested party subject to the 
limitations set forth in this section.
    (b) Venue.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), an action under 
        this section may be brought only in the United States District 
        Court for the District of Columbia.
            (2) Exception.--If the home territory of the member club or 
        the proposed new home territory of the member club is within 50 
        miles of the District of Columbia, an action under this section 
        may be brought only in the United States District Court for the 
        Southern District of New York.
    (c) Time.--An action under this section shall be brought not later 
than 14 days after the formal vote of the league approving or 
disapproving the proposed relocation.
    (d) Standard of Review.--Judicial review of a decision by a 
professional sports league to permit or not to permit the relocation of 
a member team shall be conducted on an expedited basis, and shall be 
limited to--
            (1) determining whether the league complied with the 
        procedural requirements of section 5; and
            (2) determining whether, in light of the criteria and 
        factors to be considered, the league's decision was arbitrary 
        or capricious.
    (e) Remand.--If the reviewing court determines that the league 
failed to comply with the procedural requirements of section 5 or 
reached an arbitrary and capricious decision, it shall remand the 
matter for further consideration by the league. The reviewing court may 
grant no relief other than enjoining or approving enforcement of the 
league decision.

SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS.

    (a) Payment of Debts.--
            (1) In general.--Any team permitted by a professional 
        sports league to relocate its franchise to a different home 
        territory from a publicly owned facility that remains subject 
        to debt for construction or improvements shall pay to the 
        facility owner, on a current basis until the retirement of that 
        debt, its proportionate share, based upon dates of facility 
        usage during the 12 months prior to the notice of the team's 
        intent to relocate, of the existing debt service on such 
        obligations.
            (2) Effect on existing rights.--This subsection shall not 
        affect a stadium authority's rights, if any, to seek specific 
        enforcement of its lease or a club's rights, if any, to seek a 
        judicial determination that its lease has been breached.
    (b) Competition.--Any community from which a professional sports 
league franchise relocates under this Act shall receive 180 days' prior 
notice of any league decision to expand and an opportunity to compete 
for such an expansion franchise on grounds no less favorable than those 
afforded to other communities.

SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    This Act shall apply to any league action addressing relocation of 
the home territory of a member team that occurs on or after June 1, 
1995, and to any lawsuit addressing such league action filed after June 
1, 1995.
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