This story was produced in partnership with NOTUS, a publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute. VTDigger has partnered with NOTUS to cover federal actions affecting Vermont.
The Dodgers left Brooklyn after the 1957 season. Sen. Bernie Sanders is still upset about it.
He and Rep. Greg Casar announced Thursday they will introduce new legislation meant to keep professional sports franchises in their home communities.
“I can remember … when a guy simply took a profitable team out of Brooklyn, put it across the country, and it was a horrific moment for the people in my community,” Sanders told reporters. “Dodgers have brought the community together, and I think that’s true in city after city.”
The bill, written by Casar, would require professional sports franchise owners to give a local government entity, a community nonprofit or a private person within the community a fair opportunity to purchase the team so it can remain in the area.
“Before you move a team away from the fans who have been rooting for it their whole life, you have to give them a chance to buy it and keep it,” Casar told reporters. “This bill is ultimately about who we are and what we value. We name our teams after our communities, where they play for a reason. Our teams matter to our communities. Our communities matter to our teams. Sports is a business, but it’s a lot more than that.”
The bill has several Democratic co-sponsors in the House, but Sanders acknowledged it might not be one of the most important issues in “the moment of war, authoritarianism, massive income and wealth inequality.”
Casar told Front Office Sports he believes it will become a bipartisan effort, saying there is already interest from the Illinois delegation as the Chicago Bears weigh moving to Indiana.
Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Hockey League, Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League, the National Basketball Association and the Women’s National Basketball Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the legislation.
The bill is partially inspired by a state-level provision in Ohio that requires teams using tax-supported facilities to provide a six-month notice prior to leaving to give local entities the opportunity to purchase a team.
Sanders pointed to the Green Bay Packers as an example of communities being in charge of their beloved sports team.
“The Green Bay Packers developed a model over 100 years ago in which they are financed from the fans and the maximum that any one person can own is about 4% of the team,” Sanders said.
The proposed legislation would require the sports franchise owners to provide notice a year before moving the team to a new community, defined by crossing state lines or moving to a new metropolitan statistical area.
If a sports franchise does not comply with the provisions, it would face a $30,000 daily fine until the franchise owner complies. The bill also would grant state and city attorney generals who represent the impacted community the right to sue to block the team from relocating and collect damages from the franchise owner.
The bill would not require anyone to purchase a team and it would not prevent teams from moving if there is not a buyer able to meet a fair and reasonable price.
“Greg’s bill is an important step forward in stating that we want local people in local communities around this country to have some control over their emotional attachment to their home team,” Sanders said.
