Selectmen Say No to Fee Waiver for High School Football Championship Games at Gillette Stadium

For the second year in a row, the MIAA will not get a fee waiver when they host the high school football state championship games at Gillette Stadium in December.

With the selectmen voting 5-0 against the waiver, the town will collect $2.55 on every ticket sold for the games.

In the stadium-lease agreement with the town, the selectmen to have the ability to grant a waiver to a charitable organization, but whether the MIAA qualifies for a waiver has been up for debate for years.

Prior to the vote, MIAA attorney Joe Scardino presented evidence to show that the organization is a public charity.

According to one document the MIAA received from the Attorney General’s office in 1979, it was determined that the MIAA is charitable.

Another document from the IRS identifies the organization’s deductibility status as a public charity.

Scardino added that he believed that the waiver would not violation the anti-aid amendment.

On the organization’s website however, the front page reads, “The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association is a private, non-profit educational association organized by its member schools to govern, coordinate and promote education based programs for high school students”

Town Manager Bill Keegan recommended voting against the waiver, citing the description on the website, the collection of admission and not donations, and the loss of revenue as some of the reasons.

“Based on the details I have read I don’t think it is something I can enforce on it’s merits,” Keegan said.

Selectman Ginny Coppola, who has voted against the waiver in the past, said she believed that asking for the waiver was inappropriate.

“This is tax money that is owed to the town of Foxborough. The arrangement we have is payment in lieu of taxes. What we get is $2.55 per ticket sale and that’s our tax money,” Coppola said. “I agree with Mr. Keegan’s memo to us and I support his recommendation.”

Chairman Lorraine Bure added that she was concern that the town was subsidizing an event for the benefit of other schools outside of Foxborough.

“Why is it Foxborough’s responsibility? I feel it is not right for the taxpayers of Foxborough to subsidize the event for all the school children of the Commonwealth,” Brue said.

Despite voting for the waiver in the past, Jim DeVellis joined the board in no. Despite the no vote, he admitted that it is an issue that could easily go either way.

“This has been back and forth for a number of years. I don’t know if there is a right or wrong answer. We got one attorney saying absolutely the ducks are in a row, we asked DeRensis and he didn’t know and said it’s up to the selectmen,” DeVellis said.

It is estimated that the town will collect $46,000-47,000 in fees from over 18,000 fans expected to attend one of the six games during the day.