Senate Sends Sales Tax Exemption On Hornets Tickets to Governor’s Desk

Legislation that will keep tickets to Oklahoma City Hornets games among the lowest in the league and complete the incentive package that helped lure the National Basketball Association team to the Ford Center earlier this year cleared its last legislative hurdle Wednesday and his headed to the desk of Governor Brad Henry.

Senate Bill 1022 is authored by Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Morgan. The measure exempts tickets to NBA and NHL games in Oklahoma from sales tax.

“The Hornets have been one of the best draws in the NBA, in large part, because their ticket prices are among the cheapest in the league. This legislation will ensure that continues to be the case by exempting ticket sales from sales tax,” said Morgan, D-Stillwater.

Senate and House leaders, along with representatives of Governor Henry’s office, reached an agreement on the sales tax exemption last fall during negotiations to bring the team to Oklahoma from New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Morgan said he joins other basketball fans in the state in hoping that support from state, the city, and, most of all, the thousands of fans who buy the tickets to the games will help convince the NBA to make the Hornets’ move to Oklahoma City permanent.

“The Oklahoma City Hornets are one of the great sports success stories of the year. The team is winning both on and off the court. I am hopeful that incentives – like exempting tickets from sales tax – will send a message to the team ownership and league offices that we are serious about keeping the Hornets in Oklahoma,” Morgan said.