Comments on: Ticket Tax, Anyone?

By: Think Again

Think Again — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:36:57 +0000

Nobody: I love the Indians as much as the net guy, but the last time I checked, their rent was paltry.

By: Think Again

Think Again — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:36:00 +0000

yeah, right, Jack

By: K B

K B — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 00:37:50 +0000

Irsay says a deal is a deal – yet he whined about the lease at the RCA Dome and I think the city accomodated him more than once. I remember him complaining about the seating at the dome, so the city built more sky boxes and added luxury seats, so after that renovation he complained about having fewer seats. Then he demands a new stadium but then enforces the payment to him for breaking the lease on the Dome.

By: Melyssa

Melyssa — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:13:35 +0000

I have yet to find anyone who can tell me how I have ever personally benefitted from the Colts or the Oil Can being located in my town. I personally have not prospered in anyway shape or form. To ask me or anyone else who doesn’t go to games to pay for this boondoggle defies common sense.

By: Jack

Jack — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:40:15 +0000

“Think Again”–I have a degree a MS degree in economics and no where did I ever study or read research that endorsed the philosophy of it is good to make the few pay for the many. I will even go further and proclaim myself as basically a either liberal conservative or a conservative liberal but either way making the top 20 percent of income people pay for almost 100% of cost of activities—and particularly as dumb an idea as for a sports venture is beyond anything truly defensible. Please choose some other model than the European models as there are extreme problems there also. And if not a “Robin Hood” philosophy no matter who endorses it then what is a better reference?

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:15:56 +0000

Then give them all an out in the form of a new lease stating that if the team assumes or continues to assume responsiblity for the day-to-day operating costs of the facility, then no ticket tax will be applied.

By: Paul K. Ogden

Paul K. Ogden — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:46:51 +0000

Jim Irsay is complaining about a ticket tax, yet has everyone forgotten the Colts jacked up ticket prices like 20% or more after the season?
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I agree with Think Again. There is an unfortunate contractual provision on discriminatory taxes that might require the tax also be applied to the Indians.

By: Anonymous Nobody

Anonymous Nobody — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:43:56 +0000

“And all the others have mandated health insurance, which was, and is, the single-biggest drag on our economy.”

All the others also have more restrictive tort systems, because you cannot “Sue the Crown”. You don’t have ambulance chasing lawyers (like Abdul strives to become :P ) suing every doctor and hospital in sight trying to hit the jackpot. This in itself drives the costs of health care up to where it is now.

“Among industrial nations, our upper tax rates are the lowest.”

Actually they are among the highest when you toss in AMT and corporate income taxes.

By: Anonymous Nobody

Anonymous Nobody — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:38:27 +0000

The Indians are by far getting the short end of the stick here. For one, The Schumacher family pays the CIB rent for use of Victory Field, and pays to maintain and operate Victory Field themselves. The CIB DOES NOT pay to operate or maintain Victory Field, unlike Conseco Fieldhouse and Lucas Oil Stadium and the RCA Dome before that.

The Indians keep the revenue from concessions and gate, and pay the staff from those revenues. One difference, to be fair, the player payroll is managed and paid for by Major League Baseball since the major league club makes the contract with the player and then assigns the player to the minor leagues.

By: Think Again

Think Again — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:35:25 +0000

Jack, the rich alone don’t create jobs. It’s not a Robin Hood philosophy…you might want to try a basic economics class. Among industrial nations, our upper tax rates are the lowest. And all the others have mandated health insurance, which was, and is, the single-biggest drag on our economy.

Those who can afford $75-250 tickets to a Colts game, can pay a higher tax. In this market, that may put 30-40,000 butts in seats. But if you want to fill that stadium, you’ve gotta have the cheap seats.

Speaking of basic economics class, someone ought to send Polian and Irsay to one Their phantom $100 million “contribution” to Lucas is mostly made up of credits and charge-backs…few actual dollars.