A private third party government contractor that operates a sports and entertainment venture can be required to provide contract information under the state’s right to know law, because it performs a “governmental function,” a Commonwealth Court panel has ruled.
The three-judge panel in SWB Yankees v. Wintermantel rejected an argument that the plain meaning of “governmental function” does not encompass sports and entertainment. Rather, the panel held that such events could qualify as “governmental functions,” because the contractor was hired by a governmental authority created “for the benefit of the people of the commonwealth.”
