Chip Scoggins: Gophers working on winning back trust from fans

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dpodoll68 said:
I'm not going to let anyone push false agendas. If you don't like it, stop posting and/or stop reading my posts. I'll be here.
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Sorry, but I can't let the terrorists win. You just keep on being petty, little man.
 

There are plenty of tickets that do not require the tax deductible donation, no need to completely quit supporting the team and the University if it is strictly a donation issue.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I always throw in a few dollars because I feel it makes me superior to my fellow gopher fans who do not.
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LOL. If I could direct the donation I would...to the band for some scholarships.
 

Whoa, even for this sight that was odd timing on double postings.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
to Dpo: you are correct. a donation (or "donation") is technically not required to be a season-ticket holder. but, as I understand it, the donation is required for the better seats and seating areas.

I would personally say that is not a donation as I define the word. If I want to sit in a better seating area - maybe an area where my family has sat for years, then the donation is required to keep those seats. As I use the word, a donation would be 100% optional. Here - it is more like a form of blackmail - "want good seats - give us a donation. No donation - go sit in the cheap seats."

Look, I understand that donations, or fees, or blackmail - whatever you want to call it - is SOP for most college FB programs. No different than the Vikes with their "personal seat licenses." I understand it - that doesn't mean I have to agree with it.

Don't want to beat a dead horse, but Teague screwed the pooch by jacking up the donation as much as he did, and as quickly as he did. a more gradual, phased increase would have been a lot more palatable to fans.
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It's just an increase in the price of those tickets. The only reason it's called a donation, is so they can make part of the cost of the tickets tax deductible. If there was no tax deduction available, they would have just raised the ticket price.
 


Section2 said:
It's just an increase in the price of those tickets. The only reason it's called a donation, is so they can make part of the cost of the tickets tax deductible. If there was no tax deduction available, they would have just raised the ticket price.
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Exactly! Do you think the Wild season ticket holders in the lower level would rather have their ticket cost be the same as upper deck ends, and then pay the difference in a donation they can write off at tax time? I bet the would! Do those in the donation seating honestly think they should pay the same price as someone in the upper deck corner near the top? If you dont want to pay for a donation, simply sit where you dont have to. How hard is that?
 

I believe that if Trump's tax plan goes through the tax deductibility of the seat donation would go away. If it passes it'll be interesting to see if they do away with the donation and just increase ticket prices.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
to Dpo: you are correct. a donation (or "donation") is technically not required to be a season-ticket holder. but, as I understand it, the donation is required for the better seats and seating areas.

I would personally say that is not a donation as I define the word. If I want to sit in a better seating area - maybe an area where my family has sat for years, then the donation is required to keep those seats. As I use the word, a donation would be 100% optional. Here - it is more like a form of blackmail - "want good seats - give us a donation. No donation - go sit in the cheap seats."

Look, I understand that donations, or fees, or blackmail - whatever you want to call it - is SOP for most college FB programs. No different than the Vikes with their "personal seat licenses." I understand it - that doesn't mean I have to agree with it.

Don't want to beat a dead horse, but Teague screwed the pooch by jacking up the donation as much as he did, and as quickly as he did. a more gradual, phased increase would have been a lot more palatable to fans.
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The donation is 100% optional. Period. Full stop. No one is making you do it.

You get nothing in return for it. The cost of the ticket is separate from the donation. You get full credit for the donation amount as a U of M donor and it goes in your giving history, the same as a $100 check to the Arboretum or the School of Public Health. You get a gift receipt that you can use as a tax deduction if applicable. It's a donation. There's no other word for it.
 



dpodoll68 said:
The donation is 100% optional. Period. Full stop. No one is making you do it.

You get nothing in return for it. The cost of the ticket is separate from the donation. You get full credit for the donation amount as a U of M donor and it goes in your giving history, the same as a $100 check to the Arboretum or the School of Public Health. You get a gift receipt that you can use as a tax deduction if applicable. It's a donation. There's no other word for it.
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I was not able to complete the online renewal unless the Scholarship seating donation was a part of the transaction. Tried several times. Are you saying there is a way to opt out?

http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/3...nk-stadium-via-more-wins-lower-ticket-prices/
 


Section2 said:
It's just an increase in the price of those tickets. The only reason it's called a donation, is so they can make part of the cost of the tickets tax deductible. If there was no tax deduction available, they would have just raised the ticket price.
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The reason they split it into a donation and the ticket price is to provide themselves cover when they sell the same seats as single game seats so that the base cost is comparable. It's just another way of saying F#$% you to the person who buys a season ticket. I'd have a lot less problem with it if they sold the single game seats with a single game donation that made it the same price to purchase tickets either way. IF they had the discipline to do that and found that they were not selling single game tickets they might figure out that they are better off lowering everyone's prices until they sell ALL the tickets and then raising everyone's prices at the same time to benefit from the demand for a limited commodity.
 




dpodoll68 said:
The donation is 100% optional. Period. Full stop. No one is making you do it.

You get nothing in return for it. The cost of the ticket is separate from the donation. You get full credit for the donation amount as a U of M donor and it goes in your giving history, the same as a $100 check to the Arboretum or the School of Public Health. You get a gift receipt that you can use as a tax deduction if applicable. It's a donation. There's no other word for it.
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That's not true. You get the ticket that you want to buy. The word for it would be the price of the ticket.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
If purchasing something REQUIRES a donation, it isn't a donation. It is part of the cost.
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I am surprised the IRS allows the use of a donation as part of a purchase. In effect the American taxpayer is subsidizing the University of Minnesota through attendance at football games.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
That's not true. You get the ticket that you want to buy. The word for it would be the price of the ticket.
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Incorrect. IF x ticket isn't sold as a season ticket, you can buy it later at the single-game price without the donation component. Or, you can buy your preferred seat on the secondary market without the donation component. The donation is not required.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Incorrect. IF x ticket isn't sold as a season ticket, you can buy it later at the single-game price without the donation component. Or, you can buy your preferred seat on the secondary market without the donation component. The donation is not required.
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If I want to buy season tickets for that spot, I am not allowed to do it without paying a donation. It is a requirement for buying certain season tickets. That is the entire package.

If a pizza place has a delivery fee, it isn't a "donation" because you can just go and pick it up.
If I wanted to buy a new pair of Jordan's and they were $300. They still cost $300 even though I could get them cheaper (possibly) in a month or because I could possibly buy them on the secondary market for cheaper. The price to purchase them is $300.

When you're paying a price for a good or product, there can be several factors. . .the how/when/etc. matter. They go into determining the price.

Season tickets have an extra fee that single game tickets do not. "Season tickets" are a thing, it is completely illogical to parse it out and pretend they are not.

If I want to purchase X and I am required to pay a donation to purchase X, it is not a donation.

X= season tickets for those seats. That is a tangible thing that people purchase.
 

By definition the extra cost is a donation, which is done so that the IRS recognizes that money as tax deductible. There are plenty of good seats for sale that do not have this requirement. Short Ornery Norwegian said it best.....Minnesotans as a rule are cheap!
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
If I want to buy season tickets for that spot, I am not allowed to do it without paying a donation. It is a requirement for buying certain season tickets. That is the entire package.

If a pizza place has a delivery fee, it isn't a "donation" because you can just go and pick it up.
If I wanted to buy a new pair of Jordan's and they were $300. They still cost $300 even though I could get them cheaper (possibly) in a month or because I could possibly buy them on the secondary market for cheaper. The price to purchase them is $300.

When you're paying a price for a good or product, there can be several factors. . .the how/when/etc. matter. They go into determining the price.

Season tickets have an extra fee that single game tickets do not. "Season tickets" are a thing, it is completely illogical to parse it out and pretend they are not.

If I want to purchase X and I am required to pay a donation to purchase X, it is not a donation.

X= season tickets for those seats. That is a tangible thing that people purchase.
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If it's not a donation, why do you get a gift receipt and the ability to deduct it on your taxes? Why does it count toward your giving history at the U?
 

Why fight over donation -vs- "donation". Let's just go with donation*. Works for last year's win total w/o any controversy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Spoofin said:
Why fight over donation -vs- "donation". Let's just go with donation*. Works for last year's win total w/o any controversy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Another terrible joke get some new material.
 


Spoofin said:
Thanks for your input JB. Always so good and valuable. A gem, I say.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Just trying to help your joke material, it's getting pretty stale.
 

dpodoll68 said:
If it's not a donation, why do you get a gift receipt and the ability to deduct it on your taxes? Why does it count toward your giving history at the U?
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It's a tax dodge that has varying levels of meaning, if your subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax it's meaningless. As Professor Daley in Managerial Accounting would say 'ticket price plus donation equals cost, worry about taxes later, because you need to establish cash flow now'.
 

PMWinSTP said:
That is interesting. Online I could not complete the renewal without including the donation item. Got error message each time I tried. You renew via telephone?
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Perhaps he's in a non-scholarship seating section?
 


I'm guessing here but I speculate the majority of season ticket buyers can itemize their taxes. Why not just make the entire cost a "donation"? Or maybe have the cost be 1 dollar and the balance a "donation"? Maintain revenue, incentivize buyers, fill the stadium. Is there an IRS rule on donations* as percentage of an expenditure? SON hit the nail on the head..
 

dpodoll68 said:
If it's not a donation, why do you get a gift receipt and the ability to deduct it on your taxes? Why does it count toward your giving history at the U?
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Because the U of MN successfully was able to get the IRS to fib on the definition of word. Our entire legal process is rife with instances where words are are bastardized in statutes (typically because it can be difficult to write statutes but also to push the boundaries (usually from special interests groups)). We can certainly discuss all of the instances where government agencies "redefine" a word for their own purpose. It's incredibly common. I'm shocked that song and dance holds sway over you.

That said, I am glad you gave up the argument that it is a donation by the traditional and ordinary sense of the word. That's silly. There is not another hypothetical I can think of where you are only allowed specific terms of a purchase if pay an additional fee and they allow it to be called a donation.

My main point of interjecting was to defend the poster who used quotes. It was completely acceptable for him to call it a "donation". I get it, the IRS and the U believe it should be a donation, it simply wouldn't be a donation in any other sense of the word. Fortunately for us, the IRS and the U don't get to change language. They are free to misuse words and they often do. This is a great example.
 


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