In this Act:

"Assistance Agreement" means one or more legally binding contracts, with respect to a facility for which the Authority is to provide financial assistance as provided in this Act, to which the Authority and a governmental owner of a facility or its tenant, or both, and any other appropriate persons are parties, which may be in the form of an intergovernmental agreement.

"Authority" means the Downstate Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

"Facility" means any of the following:

1. (1) Stadiums, arenas, or other structures for the holding of athletic contests or events, including baseball, football, hockey, and automobile racing; musical, dramatic, and other artistic or social events, or public meetings and other public events.

2. (2) Practice fields, or other areas where professional, amateur, or semi-professional sports teams may practice or perform. "Facility" also means the following types of property if that property is directly related to an item listed in paragraphs (1) or (2) of this definition:

   1. (i) Offices, parking lots and garages, landscaping and open spaces, access roads, transportation facilities, restaurants, and stores.
   2. (ii) Other recreation areas.

   3. (iii) Other property or structures, including all fixtures, furnishings, and appurtenances normally associated with such facilities. "Financial Assistance" means the use by the Authority, pursuant to an assistance agreement, of its powers under the Act, including, without limitation, the power to borrow money, to issue bonds and notes, to assist a governmental owner or its tenants, or both, with one or more of the following: designing, developing, establishing, constructing, erecting, acquiring, repairing, reconstructing, renovating, remodeling, adding to, extending, improving, equipping, operating, and maintaining a facility owned or be owned by the governmental owner.

      "Governmental Owner" means a body politic, public corporation, political subdivision, unit of local government, or municipality formed under the laws of the State of Illinois that owns or is to own a facility located within the corporate limits of the Authority described in Section 50 of this Act and to which the Authority provides financial assistance.

      "Loan agreement" means a legally binding contract between the Authority and an owner of a facility, pursuant to which the Authority agrees to make loans to the owner for the purpose of (i) constructing, acquiring, operating, repairing, rehabilitating, or managing a facility and the site on which a facility is or is to be located, which facility or site must be located in the State of Illinois, excluding the City of Chicago, and (ii) infrastructure improvements related to the facility.

      "Management Agreement" means a legally binding contract between the Authority and a tenant of a facility owned by the Authority, which contains at least the following provisions:

   4. (A) a provision requiring the tenant to conduct its complete regular home season schedule and any home playoff events in the facility;
   5. (B) a provision requiring the tenant to provide routine maintenance of and to operate the facility with its personnel or contractors;
   6. (C) a provision requiring the tenant to advertise and promote events it conducts at the facility;
   7. (D) a provision requiring the tenant to operate or contract for concessions for the patrons of the facility; and
   8. (E) a provision permitting the Authority or its designee to hold other events in any such facility owned by the Authority at such times as shall not unreasonably interfere with the use of that facility by the tenant. "Tenant" means any person with which a governmental owner or the Authority has entered into an agreement for the use by a sports team of any facility. Such an agreement may be a management agreement or an assistance agreement or may be a lease of or a license, permit or similar agreement with respect to the use of a facility by such team for such period as shall be agreed upon by the person and the governmental owner or the Authority, as the case may be.

(Source: P.A. 93-227, eff. 1-1-04.)