Repealed or Renumbered

Repealed or Renumbered

The commissioner shall administer the grant program and in so doing liberally interpret AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070.

Subject to direct appropriation or through the proceeds of a bonding issue, the state shall make matching grants to municipalities of an amount equal to $50 per capita, based on the population of the municipality, to pay not more than one-half of the cost of construction of a facility to be used principally for sports.

No more than one grant under AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070 may be made within an organized borough. If an organized borough refuses or fails to undertake a project within one year of July 1, 1972, a first class city within that organized borough may undertake a sports facility project.

A municipality shall maintain a facility and employ it, or cause it to be employed, for the uses intended by AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070 by direct operation, by operation through a contract manager, or by lease.

Application for a grant under AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070 shall be made before June 30, 1974. Funds shall be disbursed upon demonstration that a proposed facility is of the type contemplated by AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070 and that the applicant will pay its share of the cost of construction.

A municipality may own, maintain, and employ a facility constructed under AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070. The exercise of this power on an areawide basis is at the option of the borough and is not subject to the restrictions on acquiring additional areawide powers in AS 29.35.300 - 29.35.330.

In AS 05.35.010 - 05.35.070,

(1) 'commissioner' means the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development;

(2) 'cost of construction' includes, in addition to costs directly related to the project, the sum total of all costs of financing and carrying out of the project; these include, but are not limited to, the costs of all necessary studies, surveys, plans and specifications, architectural, engineering or other special services, acquisition of real property, site preparation and development, purchase, construction, reconstruction and improvement of real property and the acquisition of machinery and equipment as may be necessary in connection with the project; an allocable portion of the administrative and operating expenses of the grantee; the cost of financing the project, including interest on bonds issued to finance the project; and the cost of other items, including any indemnity and surety bonds and premiums on insurance, legal fees, fees and expenses of trustees, depositaries, financial advisors, and paying agents for the bonds issued as the issuer considers necessary; it does not include the cost of promotion, travel, or feasibility studies;

(3) 'facility' means a covered stadium or arena or any combination of them, or any other similar structure or structures, including related improvements such as parking areas, locker rooms, concession stands, restaurants, offices, press boxes, rest rooms, and storage areas, and including fixed or portable equipment, used in the operation of the facility;

(4) 'municipality' means an organized borough of any class or a first class city outside an organized borough;

(5) 'population' means the population of a municipality established by the final official 1970 U.S. Census or other reliable population data;

(6) 'used principally for sports' means that the major use of a facility shall be for sporting events such as baseball games, rodeos, football games, soccer games, track and field meets, ice hockey matches, basketball games, and boxing and wrestling matches, viewed by spectators in substantial numbers, and that the use of a facility may be for organized participant sports and nonsports activities for which similar facilities are commonly used.