While the Alabama Crimson Tide was beating LSU 21-0 in the BCS national championship game in the Mercedes Benz Superdome on Jan. 9, 2012, U.S. Sen. David Vitter was entertaining a number of guests in one of the Superdome’s 152 luxury suites—at a hefty cost, LouisianaVoice has learned.
Vitter, who apparently gained access to the suite through corporate largesse, took full advantage of the occasion to charge guests $4,000 per seat, according to one person who was there.
Ticket scalping laws vary from state to state and in Louisiana:
- Tickets cannot be sold at more than their face value price except on the Internet;
- Tickets for university sporting events cannot be sold online by Louisiana legislators or university students;
- Tickets can be resold online at greater than their face value price if approved by both the event operator (NCAA) and the venue operator (the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District).
The Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED), the governing board of the Superdome, owns one of the suites and the remaining 151 are owned not by the State of Louisiana, but by the New Orleans Saints (a windfall of some $10 million to the Saints) and leased for annual lease fees ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 per year, a LSED spokesperson told LouisianaVoice. All 151 suites are under lease to private entities, according to information obtained from the Saints office.
Sixty-four suites are located on the 400 level of the Superdome and offer a range of 22 to 40 seats per suite. The remaining 88 suites are located on the 300 level and offer 16 to 20 seats per suite, according to the stadium’s web page.
Vitter failed to respond to three email inquiries from LouisianaVoice that asked:
- Who (corporate entity or individual) provided you access to a luxury box for that game?
- What was the seating capacity for that luxury box at that game?
- How many guests did you entertain in that luxury box for that game?
He also was asked to identify those in attendance as his guests in the suite for the game.
Depending on the number of seats available and allowing that all seats except for those for Vitter and his family were sold, he could have netted between $50,000 and $150,000 for that event.
Federal election laws place a cap on individual political contributions. That cap varies but in 2012, it was $2,500. Federal laws also prohibit direct contributions to federal candidates from corporations. The $4,000 price would have exceeded the maximum allowable contribution.
While Vitter’s campaign contributions for the time period encompassing the LSU-Alabama game list no individual contributions that would appear to be connected to the sale of seats, corporations may make unlimited contributions to the so-called Super PACs.
Vitter’s Super Pac, the Fund for Louisiana’s Future, raised $1.5 million last year, according to Washington, D.C., fundraiser Charlie Spies.
Louisiana Voice 
So What? Obama gives our tax money to Muslims….Millions..????
And you know this to be fact? For that matter, every time you fill up at the gas pump, you’re giving money to a Middle Eastern (or as you prefer to say, a Muslim) country. And that’s relevant to this story…how?
This level of subterfuge is an accepted Louisiana norm because of Louisiana’s pool of intellectual folks like Jackie.
@Jackie Ricca…wow! Really! It’s because of people like you and your attitude that allows all the corruption going on with the Jindal administration are allowed! The average Louisiana citizen is worse off since he took office. The damage will not be realized just how bad, until he’s out of office!
Even if true, two wrongs don’t make a right (to repeat an old cliche).
Amen! We have to be secure enough in our own skin to look past political party, race, religion or creed and demand transparency and ethical behavior from our members of the legislature.
And millions of law abiding Muslims, Buddhists, Sichs, Daoists, and others pay their taxes to this country. Our constitution went great lengths to ensure that people of all faiths can practice without fear of retribution from you and others. This world is filled with fanatical believers of all stripes. Don’t know about you but I condemn all fringe terrorists equally be it Osama bin Lasen or David Koresh. Religious intolerance such as theirs is what fueled their warped psyches. Please get yours under control. BTW, the President does not write the laws, he either signs or vetoes them. Who and what receive these amounts are set by the Congress. Hope this helps you out.
Beautifully stated Bob in BR!
You are so wrong. Who has absolutely destroyed the Constitution of The United States of America. Your POTUS thinks he is King of the Jungle! So many acts I could site, but if you don’t already know about these facts, I don’t have time to school you! READ, READ, READ
And of course, George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney did nothing to undermine the Constitution, right?
We do not defend nor do we apologize for President Obama’s obvious weaknesses but unlike you, when we offer criticisms of public officials, we are prepared to offer specifics.
While we welcome and openly solicit feedback from readers, we do ask that you be prepared to defend general comments such as those you have made and not simply offer a smattering of charges and then admonish us to Read. You cannot enter a debate without being prepared to elaborate and you cannot “hit and run” by offering vague accusations and then be dismissive of those who respond by saying you do not have time to educate us.
I get the feeling that feedback is not at all your agenda. You want to insult me and anyone that will not agree with you. You bring up three past Presidents and I’m wondering how far back you’d like to go to try to make your point? As for filling up my car and money going to the Middle East, when we have more oil and gas here, makes me angry. Your POTUS won’t allow the construction of the Keystone Pipeline to benefit all of us. He has supplied our enemies with weapons, he’s paid millions to pay mortgages for Muslims and our Country is so deep in debt, we’ll never see daylight! Lavish vacations are his big interest and we can all drown. You think he’s great and I think he’s a horror.
Jackie, Jackie, Jackie! Where did you learn your American history? Three past presidents? Indeed! I brought up precisely ONE past president (though I could have gone back further—and will in the next paragraph). But just to enlighten you, Donald Rumsfeld was Secretary of Defense under George W. Bush and Dick Cheney was his vice president. Neither Rumsfeld nor Cheney ever served this country as president. Perhaps in a parallel universe, but not this one.
And, it seems, you even want to blame Obama for our having to import oil from the Middle East. That’s pretty lame considering we have been importing more oil than we produce at least as far back as Nixon (are you old enough to remember the “energy crisis” and Nixon’s mandated 55 mph speed limit, or the long gas lines and alternate days of purchasing gasoline under Carter?), so how, I ask, is a single president solely responsible for that?
As for supplying weapons to Islamics, I believe it was Reagan who supplied the Stinger missiles to Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and it was also Reagan who, through Oliver North, sold Israeli missiles to Iran that led to the Iran-Contra scandal.
If feedback were not on my agenda, I would never have allowed your first comment to be posted. I have to approve every comment before they’re posted and the only ones I have EVER censored or blocked were for reasons of language or libel. I have NEVER block a dissenting comment, your opinion notwithstanding.
But back to Bush: I believe it was he, immediately following the 9-11 attack, who said, in placating Saudi Arabia, that Islam was a “peaceful” religion (You can look it up, as Casey Stengel was fond of saying.)
Instead of attacking my “agenda,” it would seem more productive for you to look inward and take stock of your own biases and prejudices.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I’m no fan of Obama. Never have been. I believe he is weak and ill-equipped for the job. But to lay the blame for all this country’s problems at his feet is to overlook the abysmal performance of that other branch of government, the U.S. Congress—and the disastrous foreign policy of the Bush administration.
Now that you have broached the subject, I will take the liberty of invoking yet another presidency: the wholesale deregulation of the banking industry and regulatory agencies during the Reagan administration led directly to the economic collapse that occurred not under Obama, but at the end of the Bush years and the savings and loan debacle before that.
How far back am I willing to go, you ask? As far back as it takes, dear lady, as far back as it takes. To fully grasp the story, one must look at the big picture and not focus on a single flaw. There were—and are—many, and they didn’t just manifest themselves since 2008.
READ, READ, READ.
Sorry about my comment on the three former Presidents. I do know better. It seems like I have touched a sore spot and you are over re-acting. Each comment, you have made to me, is condescending, in a vague, sly way. All of this because Mr. Vitter and some fancy suite? I doubt that issue irritated you so much, but I’m pretty sure that his “guests” were citizens of the USA. Any former President, I can think of, did try to do his best in the interest of our country. Some mistakes were made, but none so blatant as we’re seeing today. If you really believe we’re a more secure nation today, in any way, I’d appreciate the information. Thank you!
Ditto, Suzy M.
Is this equivalent to scalping?
Reblogged this on The Daily Kingfish and commented:
GreaGood
Tom, you should ask one more question of Vitter. Did he funnel any of the political contributions from this fund raiser to any members of congress from Alabama to vote against legislation that would benefit Louisiana (ah-la Mary Landrieu and her BiG OIL PAC money)?
Scalping laws stand in your way? Not to worry. Just contribute anonymously to a Super PAC and have the Super PAC buy a “scalped” ticket for you in appreciation of your support. The politician (Vitter in this case) asks the Super PAC for only “face value” for the ticket (no scalping) PLUS a “gratuity” in the form of a political contribution. You can’t put a Super PAC in jail even if the Roberts Supreme Court says that it is “human”–or whatever ridiculous definition they gave to such in order to skirt common sense election rules. Is this another of the “unintended consequences” of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling? I’d dare say it is more of an “Intended Purpose.”
I look forward to casting my vote against Vitter and to persuade as many of my friends, family and professional colleagues to do same. Thanks, Tom, for yet another great piece of investigative journalism!
A bit amazing… you are up in arms over this that happened *2* years ago. At least you have what you read in tomaswell’s ‘gospel’ here as truth, without hearing the unedited version what your accused has to say. Vitter has been convicted by most of you. Now, what about the REAL problems and REAL cover-ups… Benghazi. I think maybe a bit of energy asking for the *facts* would serve as a better use if your time! Peace-Out
Sen. Vitter was asked by email on three separate occasions to offer an explanation before our story was ever written. To date, he has failed to respond. So to imply he was not given an opportunity to give his version is just not true.
As for being “up in arms,” we are simply pointing out apparent violations of federal campaign laws. Whether it was two years, two months or two weeks ago is irrelevant.
We would give similar coverage to any candidate or office holder of either party should we find them in violation. That’s our promise to our readers.
To paraphrase Bernard Baruch and later Daniel Patrick Moynihan, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. And as old Anonymous 😉 said, “Everyone is entitled to be stupid, but some abuse the privilege.”
Maybe another indication of the entitlement attitude that pervades our society. Some politicians are all to quick to condemn the poorest among us as “moochers” they stoke the fires of bigotry, in order to throw up the smoke screen, keep us arguing over, gay marriage, food stamps, free cell phones, religion, whose flag waves the brightest, while they are sate themselves at the trough……and until everyone calls it out as “wrong” it will continue.