SCS/SBs 249 & 523 - This act authorizes funding for several sports and entertainment facilities in Missouri. The act creates the Greater St. Louis Sports Facilities Authority, which is authorized to construct and own a new baseball stadium for lease to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Authority is also authorized to issue bonds to fund the construction of the new stadium. The act authorizes a maximum state appropriation of $8 million per year for up to 35 years for the state's portion of funding the stadium project and all related expenses of the stadium and the Authority; the balance of the project funding must come from non- state sources (e.g. city, county, Cardinals). Prior to the initial issuance of bonds for construction of the new stadium, the act requires that the Authority receive local matching funds, from non-state sources, in an amount equal to one year's sales tax revenues attributable to sales at Busch Stadium. Additionally, no bonds may be issued by the Authority until the Cardinals owners have signed a commitment to donate the land and $100 million to the stadium project. Interest on bonds issued by the Authority is exempt from state income tax and bonds issued by the Authority must be publicly, not privately, sold.

The act specifies that the Authority owns the naming rights to the publicly-owned stadium and shall negotiate a full fair market value price for the sale or lease of such rights. Naming rights revenues are to be expended for Authority operating costs, reimbursement to the state (in the event state sales tax revenues produced by the project do not meet or exceed the state's annual appropriations), early retirement of bonds issued by the Authority, and capital improvements to the stadium. The Cardinals may reasonably reject any name proposed for the stadium.

The act requires the Cardinals to manage and supervise the stadium construction project, lease the stadium for at least 40 years, pay annual rent of at least $1.5 million, and pay construction cost overruns. The act prohibits the sale of personal seat licenses and contains requirements on seating availability and restrictions on ticket price increases. In the event the Cardinals relocate during the lease, they must reimburse the state for all state appropriations made prior to the relocation.

The act also authorizes an annual appropriation for the Harry S Truman Sports Complex (home of the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals) of $6.5 million, in addition to amounts previously authorized. It authorizes an annual appropriation for Savvis Center (St. Louis) of $3 million. It authorizes an annual appropriation for Municipal Auditorium (Kansas City) of $1.5 million. And, it authorizes an annual appropriation for Kemper Arena (Kansas City) of $1.5 million.

The act also creates the Educational Athletics Facilities Program which authorizes the Missouri Health & Educational Facilities Authority to issue up to $35 million in bonds for a new basketball arena at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The total project cost must not exceed $75 million and an irrevocable private donation of at least $25 million from a single source must be deposited with the University prior to any bonds being issued for the project. This provision was also contained in HCR 25 (delivered to the Governor).

Total annual estimated costs of the act are: St. Louis Cardinals ($8 million), Kansas City 2-stadium complex ($6.5 million), Savvis Center ($3 million), Municipal Auditorium ($1.5 million), Kemper Arena ($1.5 million), and University of Missouri-Columbia ($3 million, "rough"); total annual cost estimate: $23.5 million.
ALAN KELLY