The FL legislature is considering a bill that would
make tickets to next year's Final Four, slated for Tropicana
Field, tax-free, according to Margaret Talev of the TAMPA
TRIBUNE. The measure would also affect events such as the
MLB All-Star Game, scheduled for Pro Player Stadium in 2000,
and the Carquest Bowl, played annually in Miami-Dade County
stadium. The benefits from the proposal "will almost
certainly not be reflected in ticket prices," but rather
"come in the form of out-of-town visitors" spending while in
town for the events, a "positive impact of millions of
dollars." The bill has already passed the FL House, and
should it pass in the Senate, the sports organizations which
run the events "would be able to keep the money from ticket
prices that otherwise would have gone to sales taxes." The
state would lose "an estimated" $500,000-$600,000 in tax
revenue by not taxing tickets to the three events. Tampa
Bay Organizing Committee Vice Chair Mike Davenport said that
the measure would give an "incentive to professional and
collegiate athletic groups to hold major events in Florida
rather than in other states" (TAMPA TRIBUNE, 4/28).
