Senator Sanders Introduces Bill to Give Cities and Fans First Right to Buy Sports Teams Before Relocation
The Home Team Act·March 26 – March 26, 2026
1 month ago
Senator Sanders Introduces Bill to Give Cities and Fans First Right to Buy Sports Teams Before Relocation
Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the Home Team Act of 2026 to prevent professional sports teams from moving to new cities without giving local fans a chance to buy them. The bill requires team owners to offer their current city or a local group of fans the first right to buy the franchise before relocating or closing it. This measure aims to protect the bond between communities and their teams by removing league rules that prohibit public ownership. Under the proposal, owners must provide a one-year notice before any planned move. This gives local governments and fan groups time to organize a purchase and keep the team in its home city. This Senate legislation follows a similar House bill introduced by Representative Greg Casar to ensure sports franchises remain community assets.
27 days ago
Rep. Casar and Sen. Sanders Introduce Home Team Act to Give Fans and Cities First Right to Buy Sports Teams
The Home Team Act is currently awaiting action in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, where it has been referred but not yet scheduled for a vote. As long as the bill remains in committee, sports owners can continue to use relocation threats to leverage public funding for stadiums without a legal requirement to offer cities a purchase option.
1 month ago
Rep. Casar Introduces Bill to Allow Fan and City Ownership of Professional Sports Teams
Representative Casar introduced H.R. 8097 to the House, seeking to allow fans and cities to purchase teams and prevent leagues from banning public ownership.
2 months ago
Bernie Sanders Backs Home Team Act to End Billionaire Stadium Subsidies
Senator Bernie Sanders publicly supported the legislative effort, arguing that billionaires should not receive corporate welfare for stadiums.
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.
The Home Team Act begins to address this problem. https://t.co/J5waAo3xIz
2 months ago
Lawmakers Unveil 'The Home Team Act' to Curb Sports Team Relocations and Public Subsidies
National media outlets reported on the new legislative strategy to address the issue of professional sports team relocation and public subsidies.
Proposed bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders targets pro sports team relocation. Here's how
The Facts
Key Statements
UUSA Today
“Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Greg Casar introduce the Home Team Act, a federal bill aimed at preventing professional sports teams from relocating across state lines.”
This article confirms the introduction of the bill and its primary goal of preventing team relocation.
Who This Affects
4 groups
Helps
Policies
These are companion bills introduced on the same day in the House and Senate to create a unified push for the legislation. Both versions are currently at the same stage of the process in their respective committees.
News
Proposed bill from Sen. Bernie Sanders targets pro sports team relocation. Here's how
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