TRENTON — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who last week shut down state officials' access to premium event tickets at state-owned arenas, will still use private skyboxes at the Izod Center and the new Meadowlands Stadium and take free tickets to events at the PNC Bank Arts Center. Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the skyboxes enable the governor to...
A sold-out Bon Jovi concert in New Meadowlands Stadium.
TRENTON — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who last week shut down state officials' access to premium event tickets at state-owned arenas, will still use private skyboxes at the Izod Center and the new Meadowlands Stadium and take free tickets to events at the PNC Bank Arts Center.
Christie spokesman Michael Drewniak said the skyboxes enable the governor to fulfill his responsibility of hosting dignitaries "and showcasing our state and promoting business for New Jersey and for the venues themselves."
Last week, the governor's chief counsel sent letters to two state agencies that oversee the three venues saying the policy of reserving event tickets for officials violates the state's ethics code. Christie's office later clarified the directive to say it only applies to purchased seats, which lawmakers and others had been allowed to buy at face value through the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. Lawmakers must now go through the same channels as the general public to buy tickets.
The NJSEA oversees the Izod Center in Newark and the Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford, which have skyboxes reserved for the governor's office and NJSEA commissioners. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority oversees the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.
"The boxes obviously provide entertainment but serve legitimate business, government and political functions as well," Drewniak said. "Dignitaries, promoters and vendors, political figures, including political opponents, and others would be expected to use the boxes."
A comparable suite at the Izod Center would cost $125,000 a year, including tickets to all events, according to the NJSEA.
At PNC, 40 free tickets are set aside for the governor's office, the turnpike authority's executive director and commissioners, and the state Transportation Department commissioner. Drewniak said those tickets are not considered "house seats" and therefore are not subject to the directive. The tickets have been supplied for about 20 years under an agreement originally made with promoter Clear Channel, and more recently Live Nation.
"This is not an arrangement we created," he said.
New Jersey Taxpayers' Association vice president Neil Coleman said his group is opposed to lawmakers getting any special perks at taxpayers' expense.
"We don't see any reason that it can't be stopped or eliminated," said Coleman, whose organization pushes tax reform to lawmakers in at the Capitol.
The issue of governor's skyboxes varies by state.
In Alabama, which doesn't have professional sports, the governor, his Cabinet and legislators get free tickets to the University of Alabama and Auburn University.
Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has state-sponsored skyboxes in three places: FedEx Field, M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
"The governor very rarely uses it himself and instead likes to offer it to community organizations and other groups," said Shaun Adamec, an O'Malley spokesman.
Some states give governors and lawmakers preferred seats but don't have dedicated skyboxes, and more states are doing away with the luxury seating for officials.
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has a skybox for basketball games at the University of Missouri-Columbia but the Missouri Democratic Party and Nixon's political campaign pay for it.
Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland has a strict ethics policy that prohibits him and his Cabinet officers from taking perks of more than $20. His predecessor, former Gov. Bob Taft, was found guilty of violating Ohio ethics law by failing to report golf games and other gifts. He promised wealthy donors access to key GOP officeholders at his skybox at Ohio State Buckeye football games in 1999.
Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, who in his previous position as Nashville mayor helped attract the NFL's Tennessee Titans and the NHL's Nashville Predators, buys his own seats to their games. He doesn't have seats at the University of Tennessee or the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, either, said his spokeswoman, Lydia Lenker.
In New Jersey, the private suites have been around for decades — since 1976 at the old Giants Stadium and since the Izod Center opened in 1981. Although the new Meadowlands Stadium is privately owed by two football teams — the New York Jets and the New York Giants — part of the deal that kept it at the Meadowlands included the skybox suites for the governor and NJSEA commissioners.
The governor's skyboxes are often not used by the governor but by staff members or anyone else who gets tickets through his office. Several lawmakers from both parties joined Christie in the governor's box a few weeks ago to see Bon Jovi play — for free — the first concert at the new Meadowlands stadium.
Not all lawmakers approve. State Sen. Raymond Lesniak, a Democrat, said the Republican governor was being hypocritical.
"As politicians are concerned, they should not have this special access, and that includes the governor and his buddies," Lesniak said, adding that it was a "separate set of rules for King Christie."
Marianna Dyson, a former IRS fringe benefits lawyer and one of the nation's leading experts on the topic, said the governor and staff members who take advantage of the skyboxes for personal use should either reimburse the state or declare the value as income.
According to the Fringe Benefits Audit Techniques Guide issued by the IRS to its auditors, the value of a leased or purchase skybox used by a corporation's top executives for personal enjoyment may be considered taxable income.
So, for example, when the governor hosts lawmakers at a Bon Jovi concert it might be considered a business activity. If the governor takes his wife and four kids to Disney on Ice, it would be personal use and should be treated as income, Dyson said.
Previous Coverage:
• Gov. Christie ends practice of reserved tickets going to N.J. officials
• N.J. Turnpike agency halts sales of concert tickets
• N.J. sports authority spent $1M on Giants, Jets season tickets for elected officials
• Ticketmaster agrees to refunds for 14 Bruce Springsteen concerts