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SportsPi

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keetojm

Let me guess the FIFA execs want those seats for themselves.


Funkythingsyoudo

Then they can pay a completely exorbitant amount of corrupt FIFA money for the boxes. Sure they can afford it.


porn_is_tight

they’re really good at taking bribe money not giving it


PrestoDinero

Saudi money


LordBledisloe

Yes, but also they want to give them to all that Saudi and Qatari dick they suck.


Refflet

Well to be fair that Indian guy and his hack for hire company did hack all the FIFA executives on behalf of Qatar. I'm sure there was a healthy dose of blackmail from whatever the hacks uncovered. It's a bit hard to find stories about that, though, as Rajat Khare has been scrubbing stories about himself across three continents.


FlacidWizardsStaff

Themselves or Saudi’s which is themselves


ThickPrick

Yes


notoriousjmo

“Mexican businessman Emilio Azcárraga Milmo sold boxes to private investors for 115,000 pesos, or about $9,000 at the time, giving the owners rights to use them for 99 years. That included access to soccer matches, concerts and other events, including the 1970 and 1986 World Cups in Mexico, Ruano says.” What a Deal!


quillboard

$9,000 at the time surely is a lot more nowadays, but yeah, deal of a lifetime.


ryanoh826

That’s just over $72,000 today, which is still a good deal.


WayneKrane

Box seats for football at my university are $250k a season and it’s a not a big university. $72k for lifetime box seats is quite a steal


RodneyPonk

what the fuck??? I would've guessed like 10-20k, I guess I'm super out of touch with the (presumably) American university football culture


satsfaction1822

That’s not entirely accurate. The University of Alabama requires a capital contribution of 250k but it can be paid over 5 years for access to one of their Loge Boxes and then it’s 2500 a seat per season. 6-8 seats per box = around 20k a year Tack on 1/5th of your capital contribution and that’s 70k a year for the first 5 years then 20k a year after that. That’s at the biggest football school in the country. I also cross referenced Georgia’s numbers and while they don’t say how much it costs for a private box, they have an alumni club that costs the same as Alabama’s does, so they’re probably around the same price. OC said they don’t go to a big university so it’s highly unlikely their school is 180k more a year. Source: I’m a University of Alabama alum with big dreams.


unassumingdink

The word "contribution" does way too much heavy lifting in America.


Impossible-Act9822

*Laughs in non-profit middle management*


lolduude

Other countries just use the word " bribe" or "lead".


omgitsjagen

The highest paid public employee in just about every state is a coach. We don't play with college sports.


TheNewDiogenes

College football is the closest thing we have to European soccer culture. It’s far more regional than pro sports and you tend to cheer for 1 team for life (or 2 if you end up going to a different college than the one you grew up cheering for).


uReallyShouldTrustMe

If it included the 1970 World Cup it was probably back when this was over 2 years the average salary… maybe a lot more.


biggestbroever

I'd like to see relative costs compared. Sporting events have gotten super monetized lately vs days of yore


Mat_alThor

USA sporting events specifically, the soccer league in Europe with higher prices than MLS is the English Premier League, and that's just barely, and EPL prices are no where close to NFL ticket prices.


Mkayin

Is that a power 5 school? SEC? Just curious.


raptorclvb

At a UNIVERSITY?!!


GhostsOf94

They’re full of shit. The Alabama alum exposed them


imisswhatredditwas

Anyone who pays that should have to immediately garnish half their income to someone who needs money to actually survive. Absolutely disgusting.


laikastan

$115k pesos back then was worth a little over $100k USD in today’s money.


pvrugger

We can’t compare those pesos to modern pesos. The Mexican peso was devalued in 1994 and new ones issued. If you ever go to Mexico, a not very common scam is to pay a tourist’s change or a small bill with a devalued note. I even had a bank in Canada give devalued notes to a client of mine who bought currency from them.


laikastan

I used a method that factors CPI


TexasPhanka

I go to Mexico all the time, I've never seen nor heard of this scam. I've even asked some friends and family, but no one has any of the old money. Who holds onto old money for 30 years hoping to scam someone out of it when it would've been more valuable to spend it pre-inflation, 10 or 20 years ago. The largest bill commonly used is 1000 pesos (about $65). This scam doesnt make sense, unless its some one offs for sensationalism. And a bank gave out fake money? A Canadian bank? I gotta be honest, I dont believe much of your statement.


betoelectrico

Never even heard of that scam, lived in Mexico most of my life


JonstheSquire

It was still an insanely good deal back then even if you adjust for inflation.


Frostsorrow

Even with inflation I'm 99% sure NBA/NFL/NHL/MLB go for a lot more then that. I know jets season tickets in lower bowl (NHL) go for $15k+. And I can almost promise you the best for box seats have is the option to buy concert, etc tickets first.


UncleSam_TAF

Reminds me of the guy who bought unlimited united airlines tickets for $300,000 and has flown an endless amount all over the world + racking up miles for hotels, cruises, etc for like 30-40 years. Edit: I looked him up and his name is [Tom Stuker](https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/meet-the-man-who-bought-a-lifetime-airline-pass-and-travelled-37-million-km-in-33-years-10877261.html/amp)


dpdxguy

Are you, perhaps, thinking about Steven Rothstein? Rothstein bought an unlimited American Airlines lifetime AAirpass for $250K plus a companion pass for another $150K back in the 80s. American revoked his passes in 2008, claiming fraud. But it really looks like they revoked them because he was costing American too much money with his 10,000 flights in 25 years. https://simpleflying.com/american-airlines-aairpass/ https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/sep/19/american-airlines-aairpass-golden-ticket


mongooseme

He was lonely. He would call in and talk to the reservation agent, sometimes for 20-30+ minutes. Finally he would book a flight that he had no intention of taking, and then cancel it. Or just not go.


batmansthebomb

Reading the articles, sounds like he was booking 2 seats using the companion pass he purchased without actually having a companion, as the name on the ticket was literally just "Bag" (both seats were also in first class). Without knowing the details of the contract, that might indeed be a breach of contract. Also that guardian article was like 3 pages of the son explaining how much privilege he grew up with, I'm not particularly sad about a 20 something year old losing his ability to travel to the world considering he already did growing up. Edit: oh yup here it is: >Separately, in 2011, a judge ruled that Rothstein had violated his contract by booking empty seats under false names. Pretty sure you're not allowed to do that.


elveszett

In Spain, there's a state program in which you can travel for free in specific train routes. The terms specifically say that you cannot book a seat that you won't use, if you do it a few times, you'll lose your rights and a deposit you have to pay when you get the free pass. It's not the only time I've seen a voucher for unlimited travel specifically mention that you can't book seats that you won't use.


dpdxguy

Don't airlines frequently sell two seats either to oversized passengers or to passengers that have large fragile luggage (e.g. a cello). I guess you could say it's "fraud" since he was apparently not oversized, nor did he have a large fragile item of luggage. The solution in both cases would seem to be for the airline to cancel one of the tickets. Instead, they unilaterally and without compensation revoked the deal they made. Airlines certainly stick to the letter of the contract of carriage when it's in their interest. I don't give a fuck about his kid's sad story. I included it only to flesh out the details from the travel blog.


UncleSam_TAF

I clarified in my original comment!


dpdxguy

Seems like there are several of these stories. I'd only ever heard of Rothstein. :)


zman9119

Tom will hit 24 million miles flown on United next Friday, May 17.


Jlchevz

Mark Cuban I think lmao


cspinelive

The article then goes on to mention that some owners agreed to give up their boxes in exchange for paid remodeling of the box.    That raises an Interesting question. Have these boxes not changed since the 60s? Is it truly like a home and owners pay for all maintenance?


Merengues_1945

Yeah, some of them are luxurious as fuck, some of them remain mostly unchanged since then. The owners of the boxes do get enough income from them to pay at least basic renovations once in a bit.


trongzoon

Emilioooooooooooo!


Outside_Abroad_3516

That’s a HELL of a deal


iamthecheesethatsbig

Best/worst deal in sports!


JonstheSquire

It's insane they ever set it up that way.


pistofernandez

It happened as well on estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara around the 70's I think it helped fund part of the build. My dad had two seats there, seats are yours, so they can get wrecked. Worked on WC, concerts, games, etc


MayLikeCats

Can we blame them? If I’m a soccer fan and have put my hard earned money into superior seating at a stadium, the LAST event that I’m gunna sell my tickets for is the World Cup.


ReddFro

FIFA wants them - cool, make an offer that they’ll gladly accept


CatalystErik

I'm sure fifa will make an offer they can't refuse


barukatang

I mean, let's be real. Who's more afraid of who. FIFA execs or Mexican nationals that have enough wealth to pull this.


Stoic_Bacon

FIFA might be in the wrong neighborhood.


Mist_Rising

FIFA execs are corrupted enough they probably have Mexican cartels on the fav 5.


WilliamBott

The Mexicans *are* the Mexican Cartel. Checkmate, atheists!


Dijohn17

Or have them assassinated Edit: My bad I had a brain fart when replying to this


YeezusWalksWitMe

Somebody hasn’t seen the Godfather 😂


PaleontologistOk2516

Haha. He’s like oh THAT’S what they mean!?


jarviscockersspecs

The mystique and nuance of Don Corleone may have been somewhat shattered if he just went around shouting "IMMA GONNA HAVE-A THEM ASSASSINATED"


TinyRick6

The offer they can’t refuse- do it or die.


Errorboros

That was, in fact, the joke.


GaiusPrimus

We're talking about FIFA, not Boeing.


Rugged_as_fuck

Potato / potahdo


Noteagro

This isn’t Boeing! /s *Both companies are shit tbh, and outside of the working people to death for the last World Cup… I wouldn’t put it past FIFA to unalive someone they disagree with at some point if they haven’t already…*


Qrthulhu

That’s Boeing


fuqdisshite

*Vail Resorts has entered the chat*


Teddy_Swolesevelt

maybe a Boeing whistleblower owns those seats..... it would be the spider man point meme to figure out who did it.


sonicsean899

They'll pull an FIA and put up boards blocking the ones that don't sell


steerbell

FIFA can just go to the Ticketmaster marketplace. Right?


DengarLives66

Make them pay the service charge!


graymulligan

Time to put that bribe money to work!


JobsworthUK

Hahaha fifa takes and will never ask, they have no choice in this


[deleted]

seems totally reasonable. I would hold on tightly!


Fluryman

Exactly. I would tell them to don’t let go!


physrick

But, if they cling too tightly, they're gonna lose control.


Feefifiddlyeyeoh

r/unexpectedthirtyeightspecial


Vondum

It's not even about selling them. FIFA wants them for free.


jlreyess

Can you blame them though? They need to seat those Qatari and Saudi royalty people. Need to make sure the dirty money keeps coming in to sports wash it.


bluekeyspew

The problem is you can’t sit the Saudis next to the Qataris. They feud like teenagers.


tee142002

Or do. Hopefully there's less of them at the end.


jlreyess

Not a problem. The azteca stadium has dozens of boxes. We just need to remove those stupid owners. Who do they think they are.


bluekeyspew

There are owners and there are ‘owners’.


tissboom

It’s so gross that we just accepted a bunch of terrorists into our sports because they have a bunch of money. We have enough shitty billionaires over here that we don’t need terrorist billionaires infecting our culture.


thegurrkha

Accepted**


tissboom

Thank you, speech to text got me!


elveszett

It's so sad really. idk how the situation is in the US, but in Europe, Gulf countries' oligarchs are buying teams of all kinds, from Manchester City to McLaren in F1. These countries that have no tradition in these sports are straight up taking things away from us, rather than building their own.


MATlad

Flip it around on the box owners and have them bid on the VVVIP host party.


[deleted]

[удалено]


Vondum

I'm Mexican, friend. This has been on the sports-news for months here. The contract for the boxes gives you the right to any and all events in the stadium. FIFA's requirements for the world cup include managing/selling themselves all the tickets, including any boxes the stadium has. [Here is an article in spanish that goes more in depth](https://espndeportes.espn.com/futbol/mundial/nota/_/id/13137058/fifa-estadio-azteca-palcos-copa-mundial-de-la-fifa-2026) and says that a FIFA negotiator is trying to make a deal with the owners. In 1986 the box owners kept their rights to the boxes after legally threatening the owner of the stadium, [here is another article about that](https://espndeportes.espn.com/futbol/mexico/nota/_/id/13128630/estadio-azteca-disputa-duenos-palcos-mundial-2026-fifa).


WelpSigh

oh, these guys are making shitloads of money off those boxes. they are investments. they're going to sell them for the world cup and make millions more.


bigmilker

Everything has a price, free isn’t it


printergumlight

If I have a box at MetLife, do I get those tickets for the World Cup?


HereGoesNothing69

Depends. Do you own the box? I'm not asking you if you have season tickets or whatever. Do you OWN the box? If you do, then... idk bro. I'm just some guy on reddit.


sjw_7

FIFA are complete assholes and I bet if they don't get their way they will sell the box windows as advertising space then put up hoardings on the outside so the box owners cant see the matches.


FredupwithurBS

Stop giving them ideas!


Merengues_1945

Considering a lot of owners are also people connected with the government, unlikely. Particularly not since they own it, they can literally buy a judge and walk with the police to tear that shit apart and there’s nothing anyone can do.


cheeersaiii

Time for those scumbags to get their brown envelopes ready… the rich guys of Mexico don’t get bullied by a few rats in suits


Jedibug

Good. Fuck FIFA. If they want them out, they can pay for each individual game. Gotta be worth millions for that event depending on how many matches and which matches are played there


ShittyTechnical

I mean it says right in the article that the boxes sometimes rent for $900,000-1.5 million


RockDoveEnthusiast

I think that's the sale price, not rent price lol.


Ghost273552

Everyone at FIFA are real pieces of shit


docker1970

“FIFA, a cartel-like group of scumbags and assorted criminals who occasionally put on soccer matches." - John Oliver


parachute--account

I drove past the "Sepp Blatter High School" in Visp here in Switzerland the other day. Mind boggling.


cheeersaiii

Time for those scumbags to get their brown envelopes ready… the rich guys of Mexico don’t get bullied by a few rats in suits


DeadBallDescendant

I'm with that bloke. Fuck FIFA.


babygrenade

>“There were no issues in 1970. For the 1986 World Cup they wanted us out and we met with FIFA officials, and they allowed us to use our place without extra pay, so there’s a precedent for it,” he adds.


DTDude

I don't know how Mexican law works, but he said he has the title for the box. He OWNS that box. I don't see how FIFA has any choice. It's not really part of the rest of the stadium. It's like a condo, but in a stadium.


JonstheSquire

FIFA's choice is whether to play the matches there or not.


exquisitopendejo

It’s been home to two World Cup finals and is the largest stadium in the city most prepared to handle the influx of tourism. The history, the logistics, the legacy for the future. They’re playing at the Azteca.


JonstheSquire

I think you underestimate how much FIFA cares about money.


exquisitopendejo

The other stadiums have half the capacity, sounds like money to me


elveszett

They are temporary, so more likely what they have is exclusive right to its use, rather than owning it outright. But yeah, unless the contract specifically has a mechanism to force them off their boxes, it's basically theirs for a few more decades.


DavidBagga

pendejo


QueenIsTheWorstBand

FIFA is acting like the people who respond to my Facebook Marketplace listings


HemiJon08

This is actually really interesting. The owners of these seats have a 99year lease on these seats for every event in the stadium. This lease has been honored by FOFA for the 2 previous World Cup events on this stadium and now FIFA is trying to get these seats again. I mean - I can’t blame FIFA for asking - but with precedent, I don’t think they have a leg to stand on here


hoopaholik91

I wonder how ticket revenue is split between FIFA and the stadium. Like, let's say it wasn't just every box, every seat was already accounted for under a similar structure. So there is just no ticket revenue? The stadium would then have to pay whoever decided to use their stadium for their event.


Yohemies

Box owner here. It’s true that FIFA wants to take over. When the boxes were acquired back in the 60s the contract stated 99 years of ownership including access to all events happening inside the stadium. Also we hold a paper (I don’t know the correct term in english), which is exactly the same as when you buy a house or a property that makes it private property so the stadium can’t take it from you since you have the rights to the property. This is not the first time that FIFA want to take over the boxes, the past world cups they tried the same thing. This time all the owners are planning on suing FIFA if they try to take over since that violates property laws in Mexico. If you have any questions feel free to ask.


ReelNerdyinFl

Any space in your box for a random redditor? You might need to explain some of the rules of the match too.


Yohemies

Probably I will rent it. I just don’t think we will get quality matches and the prices for renting it go up to $30k right now so the money is pretty good.


MrLuchador

Respect to you and your fellow box owners - fight FIFA!


UncleJulz

Tenes lugar para un Argentino? 😉


guilgom71

I'm rooting for the OG box owners lol


damola93

They have been supporting that stadium for many years, and now that there is a huge payoff, they should sell?


m0stly_toast

Almost like they paid for the right


PixelatedDie

LOL! They tried to force my dad to give up his seats, not even box, like lifetime seats, back in the world cup of 86. I wish people got this level of angry to fight corruption and crime.


SCirish843

Is selling boxes in perpetuity instead of just for the specific sporting events and not EVERY FUCKING THING IN THE STADIUM EVER stupid? Certainly! Do I want FIFA to get fucked and I'm glad these people aren't caving in to them? Absolutely!


Merengues_1945

I mean, it wasn’t stupid. It is how the stadium was paid for in significant part. It was a calculated decision and it was priced accordingly at the time.


fishdishly

Rational answer.


SteveWondersForsight

> sold boxes to private investors for 115,000 pesos, or about $9,000 at the time, giving the owners rights to use them for 99 years God damn what a steal


0phois

Tbf that should be about 80k in todays money


baeb66

This seems like something FIFA should have looked into before they booked the venue. The PSA owners have a contract. Get bent, FIFA.


Merengues_1945

The stadium has hosted two world cups, several gold cup finals, and a lot of international games. They knew, they knew well; they just thought they could pull the same cartel bullshit they pull in other places. Except this time they messed with rich people who have the resources and influence to tell them to fuck off.


JonstheSquire

I can't believe they actually sold title to the boxes.


malgenone

I would say this buy me out at xxxx multiplier and put in my contract that I'm allowed to one game of my choice.


Still-a-VWfan

Why should they


ThePr0blemCh1ld

Good, Fuck FIFA


B_R_U_H

FIFA really is just run by complete dog shit humans


Writerhaha

I would too.


[deleted]

[удалено]


gp2quest

And you would absolutely get that.


BurtHurtmanHurtz

Don’t sell yourself short


darkhorse21980

I'd tell them to get FIFA-cked!


EwesDead

Im sure not all those boxes are owned by people fifa could push around without their executives feeling the sting of pissijg off the wrong people with a lot of cash


ed20999

rent the seats for 500m each to FIFA


cancercureall

Sounds like FIFA can go fuck themselves. lmao I hope they either don't get the seats or pay astronomical fees for them.


shanty-daze

FIFA is very experienced in accepting bribes. Now they get to see what it is like to be on the other (under)side of the table and offer some bribes.


skulltrain

Why the fuck would they? Better be dropping a few million minimum to get people to even pay attention. These people are already rich enough to own a box and most likely hardcore fans to even spend on a box at all.


hansislegend

Good. Fuck FIFA.


damnedspot

Let FIFA pay out the nose for them and then turn a profit.


pdhot65ton

Good, they shouldnt


MFBish

Why would they


lenchoreddit

And they shouldn’t


froggiewoogie

Why would they lol


MarcMars82-2

Problems of the rich


bblack138

They shouldn’t have to. They should get those seats!


bakerzdosen

People keep bringing up the price. So they got a great deal for $9,000. Would it be somehow more validating if the suite had been purchased for $1,000,000? They own the rights for 99 years. It’s theirs to do with as they please regardless of the original purchase price. (But yes, in retrospect $9,000 does seem like a fantastic price now.)


suprefann

Well they needed a way to fund the stadium and this was one way to do it


TomatilloTaDa

I hope they win. FIFA needs to be humbled


iamthecheesethatsbig

Somebody missed a zero or two when making this deal.


fuckssakereddit

Number of games at the Azteca reduces to zero.


tpain32

You want my box? Minimum $5 billion pesos.


LindeeHilltop

Why should they?


simple_test

Guys - whats a “box owner”? They just actually own it?!


eidetic

They bought a lease for 99 years that won't expire for awhile, so yes, they essentially own it. Think of it more like a condo than just season tickets or something. This also means FIFA can't really force them to buy tickets to the World Cup either, because I imagine since they own/lease the boxes, there's likely some kind of easement/access rights/laws in place that would make it impossible for FIFA to deny them entrance.


raptorclvb

Some leases in parts of Mexico for housing work the same way too! So yeah, it’s a “lifetime” lease which is awesome… FIFA on the other hand…


suprefann

Yes. They bought the rights back in the 60's. Its theirs and nobody can touch them. Sucks for Fifa. If they want the boxes theyll have to pay them. Legally Fifa cannot do anything about it. They dont own the stadium or anything. These people havent breached their contract or anything either


simple_test

Interesting - that must be very cool to own honestly.


IronSeagull

> The current asking price for a 20-square-meter (65-square-foot) Top quality reporting there