Assemblyman Still Hopeful for MMA in New York
Madison Square Garden will have to wait, at least for now.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not include mixed martial arts in the budget he presented to state legislators on Feb. 1. However, State Assemblyman Dean Murray, who spoke in favor of sanctioning the sport when the UFC held a press conference at the historic arena on Jan. 13, said its exclusion may not be as great an obstacle as it would seem.
“Would we have preferred it being in there? Sure. What happens is this is the initial salvo by the governor, putting out his expectations,” said Murray. “And we go back, we hold the budget hearings and that’s when we end up having revenue enhancers. That’s when it gets introduced and negotiated into what could be the final budget. I’m still thinking this might be worked into the final budget that we end up passing.”
According to Murray, the final budget is supposed to pass April 1. If that deadline is not met, it should be “within the next few months.”
Cuomo announced an initial plan that included almost 10,000 layoffs and cutting billions from education and Medicaid programs to help close a $10 billion deficit. Financial analysis has predicted that the UFC alone could generate a potential $23 million per year in revenue for the state, a number that might not have been significant enough to make it a priority for the new budget. When factoring in local shows, Murray said, that number increases.
“I’ve heard estimates as high as $50 million in economic impact on the state, plus somewhere in the ballpark of 200 jobs being created,” he said. “It would be bringing a new industry to the state.”
Cuomo failed to even mention the bill to legalize MMA during his presentation, which was surprising to some since Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company, reportedly made financial contributions of around $74,000 to Cuomo’s campaign. If MMA does not make it into the budget’s final version, the bill must make it through the State Senate and Assembly to be passed in 2011.
“I have a sense and a feel in talking to some of the other folks around the Assembly and some of the people in the Senate that, one way or another, this is the year,” Murray said. “It can still come within this legislative session. The main sponsor of the bill is Steve Englebright, and he’s the chairman of the Tourism and Sports Development Committee, and I’m the ranking member on the [committee]. We’ve got the two top guys in that committee, which is where it has to start to go through anyway; we’ll definitely push it through there and send it on.”
Murray also downplayed the significance of Cuomo’s proposal to eliminate the salary for the Chair of the State Athletic Commission.
“If we were to turn it around and we were to say, ‘We’re gonna legalize MMA,’ it’s a little tough to eliminate that salary,” he said. “I’m not taking much out of that.”
Murray offered one piece of evidence that could be a positive omen for MMA’s future in the Empire State.
“I had [former UFC and Strikeforce champion Frank] Shamrock in with me in Albany, so we took him down to the floor and introduced him,” he said. “There were a lot of assembly people coming over trying to get his autograph. There were a lot of people that weren’t there and were upset when they heard that they missed him.”
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not include mixed martial arts in the budget he presented to state legislators on Feb. 1. However, State Assemblyman Dean Murray, who spoke in favor of sanctioning the sport when the UFC held a press conference at the historic arena on Jan. 13, said its exclusion may not be as great an obstacle as it would seem.
“Would we have preferred it being in there? Sure. What happens is this is the initial salvo by the governor, putting out his expectations,” said Murray. “And we go back, we hold the budget hearings and that’s when we end up having revenue enhancers. That’s when it gets introduced and negotiated into what could be the final budget. I’m still thinking this might be worked into the final budget that we end up passing.”
According to Murray, the final budget is supposed to pass April 1. If that deadline is not met, it should be “within the next few months.”
Cuomo announced an initial plan that included almost 10,000 layoffs and cutting billions from education and Medicaid programs to help close a $10 billion deficit. Financial analysis has predicted that the UFC alone could generate a potential $23 million per year in revenue for the state, a number that might not have been significant enough to make it a priority for the new budget. When factoring in local shows, Murray said, that number increases.
“I’ve heard estimates as high as $50 million in economic impact on the state, plus somewhere in the ballpark of 200 jobs being created,” he said. “It would be bringing a new industry to the state.”
Cuomo failed to even mention the bill to legalize MMA during his presentation, which was surprising to some since Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company, reportedly made financial contributions of around $74,000 to Cuomo’s campaign. If MMA does not make it into the budget’s final version, the bill must make it through the State Senate and Assembly to be passed in 2011.
“I have a sense and a feel in talking to some of the other folks around the Assembly and some of the people in the Senate that, one way or another, this is the year,” Murray said. “It can still come within this legislative session. The main sponsor of the bill is Steve Englebright, and he’s the chairman of the Tourism and Sports Development Committee, and I’m the ranking member on the [committee]. We’ve got the two top guys in that committee, which is where it has to start to go through anyway; we’ll definitely push it through there and send it on.”
Murray also downplayed the significance of Cuomo’s proposal to eliminate the salary for the Chair of the State Athletic Commission.
“If we were to turn it around and we were to say, ‘We’re gonna legalize MMA,’ it’s a little tough to eliminate that salary,” he said. “I’m not taking much out of that.”
Murray offered one piece of evidence that could be a positive omen for MMA’s future in the Empire State.
“I had [former UFC and Strikeforce champion Frank] Shamrock in with me in Albany, so we took him down to the floor and introduced him,” he said. “There were a lot of assembly people coming over trying to get his autograph. There were a lot of people that weren’t there and were upset when they heard that they missed him.”
