§ 13-3110. Privately owned sports complex; state assistance; conditions; voter approval; required; funds; use.

(1) State assistance may be used to pay or reimburse amounts expended for a privately owned sports complex, or borrowed through one or more debt issues to be expended by the applicant to acquire, construct, improve, or equip a privately owned sports complex, upon satisfaction of the following conditions: (a) A city or village shall propose such privately owned sports complex as a sports complex economic development project in a resolution which includes all of the provisions described in this section for establishing such project, except for the date of the proposed election described in this section; (b) The application must be a joint application submitted by a city or village and a nonprofit corporation for a project to be owned by one or both of the coapplicants as a sports complex economic development project to be located within the corporate limits of such city or village. The application shall propose such project as an economic development project subject to the terms of this section; (c) Approval of such application pursuant to section 13-3106 shall be conditional upon voter approval of the ballot question described in this section. If the ballot question is approved by the voters of such city or village, the approval of the board becomes permanent. If the ballot question is not approved by such voters, the approval shall become void; and (d) Upon the conditional approval of such application, the city or village shall submit the question of approving the proposed sports complex economic development project to the registered voters at an election as follows: (i) The governing body of the city or village shall order the submission of the question by filing a certified copy of the resolution proposing the sports complex economic development project with the election commissioner or county clerk not later than the eighth Friday prior to a special election or a municipal primary or general election which is not held at the statewide primary or general election, not later than March 1 prior to a statewide primary election, or not later than September 1 prior to a statewide general election; (ii) The question on the ballot shall briefly set out the terms of the proposed sports complex economic development project, including that such project will be funded with state assistance received pursuant to the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act. In addition to all other information, the ballot question shall include the following language: "Shall the city (or village) of (name of city or village) establish a sports complex economic development project as described here by appropriating annually from state assistance received by the city (or village) pursuant to the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act?"; and (iii) If a majority of those voting on the issue vote in favor of the question, the governing body of the city or village shall implement the proposed sports complex economic development project upon the terms set out in the resolution calling for the election. If a majority of those voting on the issue vote against the question, the governing body shall not implement the sports complex economic development project. (2) Funds received by the city or village for an approved sports complex economic development project shall be deposited to a separate fund established for such project to be used exclusively as described in this subsection and shall not be commingled with any other funds of the city or village. Such funds (a) shall first be used to pay or reimburse any preliminary or ongoing administrative costs of the city or village related to such project, (b) may be remitted to the nonprofit corporation coapplicant upon submission of proper evidence of expenditures related to such project, (c) may be pledged for and applied to payment of bonds issued by such city or village as provided in sections 13-1101 to 13-1110, or (d) may otherwise be expended for the cost of such project if owned by the city or village. Any amount received and held for such project which is not committed or expended within five years for the project may be transferred to the general fund of such city or village by action of the governing body of such city or village after a public hearing. Such public hearing shall be held after not less than thirty days' written notice to the nonprofit corporation coapplicant delivered to its last known registered address. (3) The sports complex economic development project authorized by this section shall be separate and apart from any other economic development program of such city or village, including any economic development program established under the Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act. The powers conferred by this section shall be in addition and supplemental to the powers conferred by any other law and shall be independent of and in addition to any other provisions of the law of Nebraska, including the Local Option Municipal Economic Development Act and the Community Development Law. This section and all grants of power, authority, rights, or discretion to a political subdivision under the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act shall be liberally construed, and all incidental powers necessary to carry the act into effect are hereby expressly granted to and conferred upon a political subdivision. History: Laws 2024, LB1197, § 5.