Bill H.4435

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 94435 FILED ON: 1/22/2010

HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4435

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Ten

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An Act Modifying the Lowell Civic Stadium Commission.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Notwithstanding any general or special law or ordinance to the contrary, the licensing commissioners may issue to the university, a non-profit supporting organization of the university as designated by the university or to any other persons operating the civic stadium under a contract pursuant to paragraph (a) of section 8 or who has been granted a concession for the sale of food or beverages pursuant to paragraph (b) of section 7, a common victualler's license for the premises of the civic stadium or any part thereof pursuant to section 2 of chapter 140 of the General Laws; provided, however, the provisions of section 5 of said chapter 140 shall not apply to the license so issued.

(c) A license issued under this section shall not be transferable to any other location and the license shall be renewed annually subject to chapter 138 of the General Laws.

(d) A license issued under this section shall expire and be returned by the licensee to the licensing commissioner upon the termination of the licensee's lease or concession to carry out a permitted purpose of this act.

Section 11. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the university shall not be required to pay a fee or costs of any kind for use of the stadium for all National Collegiate Athletic Association, hereinafter called NCAA, related activities and events; provided further that the university shall not be charged a fee for non-NCAA related events held in accordance with its lease with the civic stadium commission and the city; provided, however, that the university shall be responsible for actual costs resulting from such non-NCAA related events.

SECTION 10. (a) Notwithstanding any limitation on the number of licenses which may be issued under section 17 of chapter 138 of the General Laws, the licensing commissioners of the city of Lowell may issue to the University of Massachusetts Building Authority, in this section called the authority, the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, in this section called the university, a non-profit supporting organization of the university as designated by the university or to any other persons or entities operating the Tsongas Arena under a contract with the authority or the university, or who has been granted a concession by the authority or the university for the sale of food and alcoholic beverages, a license as a common victualler to serve all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises of the Tsongas Arena or any part thereof and the provisions of sections 12A and 16C of said chapter 138 shall not apply to such premises. A licensee shall not be required by the licensing board under said section 12 of said chapter 138 to have the licensed premises open during any hours when there is no activity being conducted in the Tsongas Arena nor shall the licensee be permitted to serve food or alcoholic beverages to strangers, travelers or members of the general public who are not attending an activity then being conducted in the Tsongas Arena.

(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law or ordinance to the contrary, the licensing commissioners may issue to the authority, the university, a non-profit supporting organization of the university as designated by the university or to any other persons operating the Tsongas Arena under a contract with the authority or the university or who has been granted a concession by the authority or the university for the sale of food or beverages, a common victualler's license for the premises of the Tsongas Arena or any part thereof pursuant to section 2 of chapter 140 of the General Laws; provided, however, the provisions of section 5 of said chapter 140 shall not apply to the license so issued.

(c) A license issued under this section shall not be transferable to any other location and the license shall be renewed annually subject to chapter 138 of the General Laws.

SECTION 11. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Lowell arena and civic stadium commission established by subsection (a) of section 3 of chapter 325 of the acts of 1995, as amended by section 4, shall be renamed the Lowell civic stadium commission for the purpose of operating and maintaining the civic stadium and upon the effective date of this act all members of the Lowell arena and civic stadium commission shall continue in office as members of the Lowell civic stadium commission for the remainder of their respective terms.

SECTION 12. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all existing contractual rights and obligations of the Lowell arena and civic stadium commission with respect to the Tsongas Arena shall become the contractual rights and obligations of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell”; by inserting before the enacting clause the following emergency preamble:

“Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is forthwith to authorize the transfer of certain contractual rights and obligations of the Lowell arena and civic stadium commission relative to the Tsongas Arena to the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.”; and by striking out the title and inserting in place thereof the following title: “An act relative to the Lowell Civic Stadium Commission.”.