TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill that would prohibit sports teams from constructing or renovating a facility on publicly-owned land.
Rep. Bryan Avila’s bill (HB 77), which passed 82-33 on Thursday, also requires that any sale of public land for a stadium or arena must be at fair market value.
Only one of the 10 professional sports franchises in Florida has their facility on private land - Orlando City’s soccer stadium, which opened last month. Avila, a Republican from Hialeah, represents a district adjacent to Marlins Park, which opened in 2012 and received plenty of criticism about its large amount of public funding.
If passed by the Florida Senate and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott, it would not affect current leases. It would hamper efforts for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays search for a new stadium.
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