http://www.heraldcourier.com/sports/virginia-tech-to-offer-limited-beer-...
Tech plans to introduce beer and wine sales in the west side club seats at Lane Stadium this football season, multiple sources said, following an emerging nationwide trend in college athletics as athletic departments look to generate more revenue to cover the rising cost of doing business, including cost of attendance.
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Alrighty then.
Only in the West Side Club Seats? C'mon Whit! Us unwashed masses can handle our booze!
Yeah, c'mon, Whit!
Sorry, guys, but that's just not looking like it'll happen as long as Whit is AD.
Whit is culturally sensitive to his post, rather than morally opposed to it...this article highlights his previous history at Cincinnati with beer sales:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2014/06/22/beer-sales-colle...
I think he is waiting for it to be rolled out at peer institutions before he makes that change here.
Me, after this news
Me, on Sunday mornings after games (and a Tuesday and Saturday)
I like the recent efforts to add value to the club seats!
Would it be value if you still have to buy it? The value seems to be just the "option" of purchasing alcohol.
The rest of us plebes need to smuggle it in as per the usual.
Absolutely. Just having the option to drink an alcoholic beverage or two during the game without stuffing your crotch with airplane bottles is additional value.
Ah! But is it worth the ~$2000 odd you pay for box tickets (or however these are being handled) to not have to stuff one's crotch?
It's a nice convenience not to have to stuff your crotch for sure, but I suspect the drinks will still be completely over priced when you buy them, so to me personally, I'd rather do the undergrad-route!
I really never find it much of a trouble to get alcohol into the stadium if I want to. It's certainly not worth the premium of club seats to me to avoid it.
No but you're not really the target demographic if you have to think twice about that extra $2000/seat. My hunch is that most of that target demographic would probably enjoy a drink or two during the game but wouldn't be getting blitzed, and would never sneak alcohol into the stadium in the first place.
The reason I'm happy we're seeing this kind of effort to boost up the Club amenities is that we need Mr. & Mrs. Deep Pockets donating to the Athletic Department. Little things like this help keep Mr. Mrs. Deep Pockets happy and continuing their financial support.
Also if it works it can be expanded, doing this as a trial so to speak works because VT doesn't need a new liquor license.
That's a valid point. +1.
Though at $2000/seat you (if you're part of the demographic) should probably demand free drinks even though you're not intending to get slammed!
$2000 a seat, of which I believe ~$1500 is considered a charitable donation which is tax deductible. The actual "cost" of the seat is far lower than the value when you consider that most of it is a donation.
I see. Still. $500 for the "option" is still not in my ballpark haha.
Oh I agree, but when you think of the actual cost to you being $500, it starts to get closer to how much you pay for other sports' season tickets, just for fewer games. The difference though is that professional sports usually have tiered pricing where $500 may get you season tickets in the nose bleeds or 1 ticket at the premium location for 1 game. I think Whit's next move will be to start a tiered pricing system in order to encourage a sold out stadium. Want to sit at the top of the SEZ? $35 and you can be there.
Not a tax man, but a charitable donation doesn't necessarily mean the person paid $1500 less in taxes, just that his income was reduced by it somewhat. I am certain we have an accountant or two around who can say more confidently, but that's my understanding of these deductions.
It reduces your taxable income, not $1500 less in taxes paid. Many people consider heavy amounts of donations to charities yearly to keep them in certain brackets or for just the purpose of generosity, so knowing that you're paying $350 for the seat and donating $1650 for the ability to buy that seat carries a different connotation than paying $2000 for the seat itself.
Gross simplification: 1500 donation, 33 federal plus 5.75 marginal rates VA, call it 40% total marginal tax rate. I write off 1500, save 600 in taxes. That ticket effectively costs me 1400. Yes it's done in April and I pay 2k on the spot, but if you have this mindset (and you should) every financial decision involves taxes ultimately and you could not care less.
Yes, the cost of the seat itself is not deductible.
What is deductible from your overall amount of gross income is never more than 80% of the amount donated to the Hokie Club.
So if you have a gross income of $100,000.00 and donate $1000.00 to the Hokie club then the most you can deduct is $800.00 and so report your adjusted gross income of $99,200.00
That's the maximum and there Re other factors which can reduce that amount.
According to my annual form, this only applies to anything you donated as part of your season ticket requirements. If you donate $1000 to cover your season ticket requirement, you can claim $800 of that. If you donate another $1000 for Silver Hokie Club status, you can claim the full $1000 there (that's what my form says, anyway). That's why they separate your Club Seat Premium from VTAF Gifts on the form.
To quote the form:
Ah, an interesting twist. I did not know that.
Thank you.
The main time that such a donation makes no difference is if you're not itemizing.
It is as it SHOULD be.
The 50 Cent move that i would make would be to purchase a west side club seat.
The reality is that I will have to view said beer sales from the East Stands.
I just sat and watched this image for 30 seconds waiting for Robert Redford to do his approving smile. I hate when I recognize and like a gif but it's broken so I sit here like an idiot waiting for it.
"Cover rising costs"=keep people from going back to tailgating
Just trying to make our flasks obsolete eh?
Unless they start the first flask-refilling stations throughout the stadium. Let's make it happen, Whit.
Just another reason why the West side is superior to the East side. :)
Sat in a club seat once when I bought a ticket in the parking lot. Pretty sweet. The bathrooms being close, the no waiting at the concessions, and the option of hanging out inside if the weather sucks seemed pretty plush to me. I'm not financially able to justify that kind of expense, but it must be nice. I did notice that the folks around me seemed much more subdued than the folks I had been sitting with over the years. Who knows, maybe the beer and wine will get them up off their butts and hollering a little.
Just curious, how much did you scalp for, and what game?
Man, it was just far enough back and I've been to so many games, I cannot recall the opponent, but I do remember it was a Saturday game and my fishing clients had canceled last minute (dad had a heart attack, legit cancellation) so I decided to go. OOC game, minor game I do recall, and my cost was 40$, which I also remember. The guy was really nice and just wanted to be sure I was really a Hokie, but if you see me on game day, you shouldn't have to guess. I have apologized many times on this site for my faulty memory, I'm afraid this'll have to be another one. I think the guy was trying for more jack, but I opened my wallet and showed him my two twenties and he settled for it. Didn't show him the hundie I keep back for emergencies, though I probably would've gone as high as 50 since I'd gone to so much trouble to get to the game. Had to sit alone, though another of my clients was seated near by, but my crowd ain't in the rare atmosphere I found myself in. Great seats, though.
First year our season tickets in the east stands were next to an Older couple with interior club seats but liked sitting outside in the east stands.
They did retreat inside during the Marshall cyclone though.
When I first heard this I was excited, but the more I think about it the more I'm not a fan. My reasoning behind is that basically you are saying that those who can give a ton of money are better than those Hokies that give $1000 a year.
I read into it more as a trial run to see how successful it is. Not as a "all donors are equal, but some donors are more equal than others" type thing.
If VT were to take sales to general seats they would need a new license from the state.
No one is saying that one's level of commitment, dedication or fandom is directly correlated to how much they donate to the program - You need to pay more to get more, that's all. Our booster who donates in the millions (Wes Worsham) is on the sideline for every game. The fans in the club level don't get that option, not because they're lesser people/Hokies, just because they pay for a different experience.
*Edited
Wes Worsham? I believe he is on field for the games. Andy Bitter wrote a couple pieces on him a couple years back.
If you pay extra for club seats, you should get more. That's 100% of what this policy says.
i was excited when I first heard about this, then upon realizing it is just in the club seats, realized a will never drink legally in Lane Stadium
Still great news for VT though
Beer and wine sale now also being offered in South Endzone Club seats.
http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/schools/virginia-tech/article_792...
Time to make HokieJeep your new friend.
Thanks for remembering me!
Considering that I'll be staying locally for this year's games and then leaving in the morning, this will be sufficiently useful.
I'm just saying I'll be at the games by myself since my wife will be in no condition to travel to the games this year.
I think it makes sense to offer alcohol in any "Club" level seating area. It's a relatively small section of the stadium, it's generally older folks who (in theory) won't go overboard with it (and even if they want to, at least they'll kick the athletic department a few bucks in the process) and it ups the incentive to dish out some more cash for those seats which were the hardest to sell last year.
In my mind, it's a no-brainer.
not =/= now
I was confused for a minute
Trying to type on phone while in vehicle, thanks for catching that.
er....don't text and drive? I guess
Riding backwards ( I'm in back of fire truck)
Me riding backwards in anything:
The fire trucks not bad but riding backwards in the medic for any long distances SUCKS.
I would be willing to bet a smoother and more comfortable ride than backwards on the Metro.
"We've got lives to save!"
"Hold up, gotta tell TKP bout beer sales in Lane."
(Last name) you are on fire today.
I know you should see everything I've been posting
NO YOU ARE ON FIRE!!
I would suggest the Maroon Effect ale to anyone that has an opportunity to buy it next season.
Now, we just need to push to get this guy in the student section
I'd prefer to have a beer vendor.
Come on now. Cold water is essential to warding off gameday heat stroke.
Absolutely, but google images only gave me pee water vendors.
Egbert's just mad you didn't photo shop any of his logos over the bud light logos
Ah, I actually don't have a beer label right now.
I reserve that for the future though.
The Roanoke Times Facebook page has this story and the comments are just so wonderful.
Ahhh...facebook folks who never attend games never seem to disappoint on their overreactions.