(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a beer manufacturer may sponsor or purchase advertising space and time from, or on behalf of, an off-sale retail licensee subject to all of the following conditions:
(1) The off-sale retail licensee is an owner or coowner of a professional sports team.
(2) The professional sports team owned or coowned by the off-sale retail licensee is a tenant of, and plays its home games in, an arena with a fixed seating capacity in excess of 10,000 seats located in San Joaquin County.
(3) The advertising space or time is sponsored or purchased only in connection with the professional sports team’s events held on the premises of the arena.
(4) The owner or coowner of the professional sports team does not hold or have an interest in more than two off-sale retail licenses.
(b) Any sponsorship or purchase of advertising space or time conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be conducted pursuant to a written contract entered into by the beer manufacturer, the off-sale retail licensee, and all other coowners, where applicable.
(c) Any beer manufacturer who, through coercion or other illegal means, induces, directly or indirectly, a holder of a wholesaler’s license to fulfill those contractual obligations entered into pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine in an amount equal to the entire value of the advertising space or time involved in the contract, whichever is greater, plus ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both imprisonment and fine. The person shall also be subject to license revocation pursuant to Section 24200.
(d) Any off-sale retail licensee described in subdivision (a) who, directly or indirectly, solicits or coerces a holder of a wholesaler’s license to solicit a beer manufacturer to sponsor or purchase advertising time or space pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by a fine in an amount equal to the entire value of the advertising space or time involved in the contract, whichever is greater, plus ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both imprisonment and fine. The person shall also be subject to license revocation pursuant to Section 24200.
(e) Nothing in this section shall authorize the purchasing of advertising space or time from, or on behalf of, any on-sale licensee that is the owner, manager, agent of the owner, assignee of the owner’s advertising rights, or a tenant of the arena described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a).
(f) Nothing in this section shall authorize a beer manufacturer to furnish, give, or lend anything of value to an off-sale retail licensee described in subdivision (a) except as expressly authorized by this section or any other provision of this division.
(g) For purposes of this section, “beer manufacturer” includes a holder of a beer manufacturer’s license, a holder of an out-of-state beer manufacturer’s certificate, or a holder of a beer and wine importer’s general license, selling beer only.
(Added by Stats. 2007, Ch. 221, Sec. 1. Effective September 21, 2007.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018