Requires Division of Travel and Tourism to establish marketing and advertising campaign to promote athletics; appropriates $250,000.

S3287

SENATE, No. 3287

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 2, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� KRISTIN M. CORRADO

District 40 (Bergen, Essex and Passaic)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires Division of Travel and Tourism to establish
marketing and advertising campaign to promote athletics; appropriates $250,000.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
establishing a marketing and advertising campaign to
promote athletics, supplementing P.L.1977, c.225 (C.34:1A-45 et seq.), and
making an appropriation.�

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.� The Legislature finds and
declares that:

���� a.� The State of New Jersey
has an extensive and rich sports history and has been home to a plethora of
distinguished sports figures.�

���� b.� The State holds a
prominent place in the overall landscape of sports history, being home to the
first organized baseball game held in Hoboken on October 6, 1845.� In addition,
the first intercollegiate football game was played between Rutgers University
and Princeton University in New Brunswick on November 6, 1869.

���� c.� In addition to these
historic firsts, the State has hosted the Super Bowl for the National Football
League and the Stanley Cup Finals for the National Hockey League.� The State
will continue its excellence as a prime location for hosting significant sports
events as it has been selected to be the location for the FIFA World Cup Finals
in soccer in 2026.�

���� d.� The State has also
produced numerous athletes that have gone on to have impactful careers in their
respective sports, including: Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player Larry
Doby; Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Joe Flacco; two-time Major League
Baseball All-Star Todd Frazier; National Football League Hall of Fame player
Franco Harris; long-time United States men�s national soccer team goalie Tim
Howard; two-time Major League Baseball World Series champion Al Leiter;
nine-time Olympic Gold Medalist in track and field Carl Lewis; two-time FIFA
Women�s World Cup Champion in soccer Carli Lloyd; Olympic gold medalist and 400-meter
hurdles world record holder Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone; three-time National
Football League Pro Bowl player Greg Olsen; two-time Super Bowl Champion Isiah
Pacheco; National Collegiate Athletic Association All-American honoree in
football Kenny Pickett; two-time FIFA Women�s World Cup Champion in soccer Christie
Pierce; four-time National Basketball Association All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns;
three-time Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Mike Trout; 15-year
National Hockey League veteran James van Riemsdyk; National Hockey League Stanley
Cup Champion Trevor van Riemsdyk; and countless others.

���� e.� In the interest of
continuing New Jersey�s impressive history in a variety of sports and
encouraging increased participation in sports programs, it is appropriate to
promote the benefits, as well as the overall importance and competitive nature,
of the State�s interscholastic and collegiate athletic programs.

���� 2.� a.� The Division of Travel
and Tourism in the Department of State shall annually develop a marketing and
advertising campaign, the purpose of which shall be to promote interscholastic
and collegiate athletics in the State.� In addition to other activities that
the division may deem appropriate, the campaign shall:

���� (1)� encourage increased
participation in interscholastic athletics;

���� (2)� emphasize the physical,
mental, social, and educational benefits of participating in interscholastic
athletics;

���� (3)� promote attendance at
interscholastic and collegiate athletics games, tournaments, and other events;

���� (4)� highlight the competitive
landscape of New Jersey interscholastic athletics; and

���� (5)� further New Jersey�s
prominence as a State that fosters the development of high-caliber collegiate
and professional athletes.�

���� b.� The marketing and
advertising campaign established pursuant to this section shall be in
compliance with the �New Jersey Fair Play Act,� P.L.2020, c.83 (C.18A:3B-86 et
seq.), as well as applicable federal law governing the use of a student�s name,
image, or likeness and all applicable rules of the New Jersey State
Interscholastic Athletic Association and the National Collegiate Athletic
Association.�

���� 3.� There is appropriated from
the General Fund to the Division of Travel and Tourism in the Department of
State the sum of $250,000 to implement the provisions of this act.�

���� 4. This act shall take effect
immediately.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the Division
of Travel and Tourism in the Department of State to annually develop a
marketing and advertising campaign, the purpose of which is to promote
interscholastic and collegiate athletics in the State.� In addition to other
activities that the division may deem appropriate, the campaign is to:

���� (1)� encourage increased
participation in interscholastic athletics;

���� (2)� emphasize the physical,
mental, social, and educational benefits of participating in interscholastic
athletics;

���� (3)� promote attendance at
interscholastic and collegiate athletics games, tournaments, and other events;

���� (4)� highlight the competitive
landscape of New Jersey interscholastic athletics; and

���� (5)� further New Jersey�s
prominence as a State that fosters the development of high-caliber collegiate
and professional athletes.�

���� The bill appropriates $250,000
from the General Fund to the division to implement the bill�s provisions.