Longhorn Foundation and Season Tickets

[Macanudo]

Who understand the system?

What I know... Where you sit is based on how much you donate annually. Your cumulative is used to break ties. How much you have donated in your lifetime does not dictate where you sit. Example:

I give $5,000 a year (which I don't in reality). I have done so for 10 years. So I sit in section 2 or wherever. I might sit next to someone who has given $1,000 a year but has been doing so for 11 years. And someone who gave $10,000 for the last 2 years might sit in section 3.

Does that sound about right?

What I am trying to figure out is if I should go ahead and make my Foundation contribution even though I am not buying season tickets right now. I give fairly small amount but should I keep it going in order to keep my "place"? I did not renew my season tickets (they were endzone anyways.)

Am I better off holding my contribution out for a year or two and then just increasing what I give when I do finally start to contribute again or keeping something flowing to them each year?

 

[HoustonHorn93]

Personally if I were doing it today (which I am not) I would not be giving to the Foundation in hopes of getting decent seats. There simply aren't enough available with most of the good seats being renewed every year. The ones that aren't renewed require very high donations to get them.

Thus, we've given $500 per year since 1994 and have great west side lower level seats that we love. But, the $500 plus the cost of the tix (grand total of about $1000 every year) is my breaking point.

Most years you can scalp two good seats for every game for less than the $1000 that I pay every year, especially this year.

I don't have the tix prices handy but lets use some basic numbers based on this years schedule. Let's assume $40 per ticket for each game. Using thise number two season tix would cost $480. There are six games this year. I'm willing to bet you can get North Texas, Rice, Baylor amd Missouri for at or near face for each game. So for two tickets for each game that would be $320. Let's say about $75 per tix for OSU and $150 per for A&M. That's another $450. That's a total of $770 or $230 less than what I paid for my season tix. Some years we have a better home schedule and you're going to spend closer to $1000 to scalp for each game but in the end I think you would spend less money scalping.

Of course by scalping you don't get any rights to bowl games, the OU game, road games, etc.

 

[Macanudo]

I'm thinking that we'll see OU as a home game sometime in the next 4-5 years. That will be a very hard game to get tickets to without paying a pretty penny.

EDIT: I've been kicking myself ever since I didn't start buying (and donating) when I was in school. Or at the very least when I graduated in 1994. If I had done that, regardless of how much I give, I'd be sitting in better seats.

 

[WooHorn]

It is simple: If you have already given up your season tickets (or didn't want to keep them), you should not make foundation contributions. The theoretical advanage of having a higer cumulative contribution history is not worth buying. You should save up all of that money and then make a bigger contribution (that you can sustain, though) when you are ready to get season tickets.

 

[dahorns]

Doesn't matter if you continue donating the old/former sum w/o tickets. Once you purchase tickets in the future, the "amount" will be set for that year and remain the same if you want to keep the same tickets in future years.

 

[Bernard]

If you did not renew your seats, there's no reason to give money to the Foundation. Your established donation level was tied to those two seats. Even if you give money this year, you'll be back to square one when you sign up for new seats.

Of course when it comes time to renew your seats, as stated above, there still won't be any economic justification to give to the Foundation. It just costs too much to get decent seats through the foundation. You are better off buying on the secondary market.

Bernard

 

[horn4life]

Without season tix no reason except the 80% deduction or desire to support the program is there a reason to continue donating.

I am a lucky bastard and have 8 seats on the east side on the goal line for a contribution of $400 a year. the guy next to me puts in $1200 that his cmompany matches to $2400 for his 4 seats farther from the 50.

The real dilemma is simply that almost NOBODY is giving up their seats much anymore. So even if you contribute $5000 somebody has to vacate a season ticket for you to have access to the seats.

My suggestion is to save your money and wait for the next down period, whcih unfortunately always does come along and THEN hop in with both feet as disgruntled fans give up their seats.

i am particularly pissed I did not give money for OU seats as apparently i woudl ahve gotten them after three years of dearth due to the stadium expansion... ARGH!

 

[96Horn]

The OU series will never be home and home.

 

[SynTex]

actually, I just joined the LHF this year. Quick question.

Let's say that next year, I get a big raise or something. I want to try to get better seats. So I pony up, donate $1,500, and then get moved up.

Does that mean for every year in which I intend to stay in those seats, I must continue to donate $1,500? Or may I just donate the minimum ($150) in the subsequent years?

 

[GatePratt]

If your increased donation gets you better seats, yes, you will need to contribute at the higher level to keep them. If you do not get better seats, you can donate at the lower level.

 

[PecosBill]

To move up in line someone needs to give up their season ticket to release the better seats.

Prefer the West side upper deck and we have moved from Sect 102 row nose bleed, to Sect 103 row bat guano and have been in Sect 104 Row 40ish for the last 4 years.

The guys below me have had the same seats for over 10 years.

 

[TXHookem]

Matching donations are a double-edged sword... if you leave your company and your next employer doesn't match, you still have to pony up the total amount.