Request By:
Richard Northern, Esq.
Attorney at Law
Citizens Plaza
Louisville, Kentucky 40202
Opinion
Opinion By: Steven L. Beshear, Attorney General; By: Robert L. Chenoweth, Assistant Deputy Attorney General and Chief Legal Counsel
You have asked the Office of the Attorney General for an opinion regarding the applicability of the State Model Procurement Code, KRS 45A.005, et seq., to certain proposed purchases of leasehold improvements by the Tulsa Oilers Baseball Club, Inc., d/b/a the Louisville Redbirds as lessee of the Cardinal Stadium on the grounds of the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center.
It is the baseball club's intention to purchase approximately $500,000 worth of equipment, including new seats and concession facilities, for installation in Cardinal Stadium. At the expiration of the baseball club's lease of Cardinal Stadium, the ownership of these items of equipment will vest in the Kentucky State Fair Board.
It is the formal opinion of this Office that under the circumstances described, the State Procurement Laws are inapplicable.
As pointed out in your letter, this Office rendered an opinion to you nearly a year ago wherein we considered a similar question concerning the applicability of various statutes including the State Procurement Code to purchases to be made by the Louisville Baseball Committee, Inc. as lessee of Cardinal Stadium. In OAG 81-341, we concluded the State Procurement Code did not apply in view of the fact public funds were not going to he used and no public agency was going to be a purchaser, buyer or lessee. Under the facts then related, the State Fair Board, as a public agency, was going to be the lessor.
We see no legal difference in the present facts you have proffered from those addressed in OAG 81-341. The Louisville Redbirds is also not a public agency. Moreover, as we understand it, the contemplated leasehold improvements will not be made in lieu of rent payments. Therefore, we believe the State Procurement Code does not apply to purchases made by the baseball club corporation.