Home Team Act would ban pro sports teams from moving unless they give local community a chance to buy team first
As the modified lyrics of Take Me Out to the Ballgame might go: “It’s root, root, root, for the home team / If they would move, it’s a shame.”
What the legislation does
The Home Team Act would ban a pro sports team from moving without giving the local community a chance to purchase the team for a year first.
The legislation specifies at least three options for how “the community” could buy a team:
A wealthy private individual who lives in the community or company that operates there.
A community cooperative or nonprofit. The model here would be the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, the only such pro sports team in the U.S owned not by an individual or a company, but rather by 537,000 individual shareholders, like a company stock.
A local or state government itself buying the team. There’s really no precedent for that in the U.S., though governments do own sports teams in some other nations, particularly with soccer teams.
The penalty for noncompliance would be $30,000 fine per day.
The House version was introduced by Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX35) on March 26, then the Senate version was introduced that same day by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Context
Pro sports teams move with some frequency. In the 21st century alone, that’s included:
NBA: The Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2008, the Charlotte Hornets became the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Vancouver Grizzlies became the Memphis Grizzlies in 2001.
NFL: The Oakland Raiders moved to Las Vegas in 2020, the St. Louis Rams moved to Los Angeles in 2016, as did the San Diego Chargers in 2017.
MLB: The Montreal Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005, and the Oakland Athletics (A’s) will move to Las Vegas in 2028.
NHL: The Atlanta Thrashers became the Winnipeg Jets in 2011, and the Arizona Coyotes became the Utah Mammoth in 2024.
What supporters say
Supporters argue that the legislation would prevent pro sports owners, many of whom rank among the richest people in America, from crossing city or state lines without at least giving the original locality a chance to salvage the team.
“Sports in America should be about more than just making billionaire owners even richer,” Rep. Casar said in a press release. “Far too many Americans know the pain of losing a team, and far too many communities have had to fork over billions in subsidies just to keep an already profitable team home. Our bill is about creating a level playing field so leagues work for fans and taxpayers, not just owners.”
“The American people are sick and tired of billionaires threatening to move the sports teams they own to different states unless they get hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to build new stadiums,” Sen. Sanders said in a separate press release. “In my view, professional sports teams should be owned and controlled by the fans who love them, not by the multibillionaire oligarchs who are getting even richer by charging outrageous prices and getting taxpayers to pick up their extravagant costs.”
What opponents say
Opponents counter that the legislation would hamstring (mostly) blue-state teams from moving to (mostly) red-state locations. So if these legislators truly want to prevent their team from relocating, the real way to do so is through lower prices and creating a more business-friendly economy in their blue states.
“Indiana is open for business, while states like Illinois, New York, and California are collapsing under failed Democrat policies,” Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) told IndyStar about the bill. “Now they want to trap businesses and families in those failing systems.”
“Hoosiers won’t tolerate government control over who can buy or sell a business or where Americans choose to build a better life,” Gov. Braun, a former member of Congress, continued. “I ran for governor because nothing gets done in D.C., largely due to wasting time on crazy ideas like this.”
What happens next
The House version has attracted seven cosponsors, all Democrats. It’s been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Senate version has attracted two cosponsors, both Democrats – and both from Connecticut. That’s likely not a coincidence, as Connecticut’s only remaining pro sports team, the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, recently announced they’ll relocate to Houston, Texas in 2027 and rename themselves the Comets.
The upper-chamber version has been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. Odds of passage are low in the Republican-controlled Congress.