Hot Dog Hail Mary

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jack76
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Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by jack76 »

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this holiday that tends to be slow on baseball news, I wanted to share a story from NPR's Planet Money that reported on an experiment by the Atlanta Falcons where they significantly cut the cost of the stadium food AT A LOSS TO OWNERSHIP specifically to enhance the fan experience.

In this era where attendance is flagging, and goodness knows I can't afford to take the family to more than a game or two a day, this story was heartening. In particular, the story details the relationship and contracts between the owners and the stadium vendors. I don't know how the Cardinals operate with their vendors, but it makes me want to know more about that side of the business before making an assumption on how much money the Cardinals bring in from food.

Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy this story on a slow sports news day: https://www.npr.org/templates/transcrip ... =665396446

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Hoot45
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by Hoot45 »

Fun story, interesting stuff they are doing in Atlanta. Thanks for sharing. And Happy Thanksgiving to all as well! I agree it would be interesting to know more about how the concession agreements are structured at the ballpark.

Sidebar, before this turns into an annual [expletive] about prices at Busch Stadium, let me remind people:

- You can bring in your own food. Literally anything but booze. Our family has tested this rule extensively and it is remarkable what you can get into the stadium, as long as you don't bring in any alcohol. Concession stands are for the people that want convenience and are willing to pay a premium for it.

- If you pay more than $5 to park you've done it wrong. Personally, if I pay more than $3 to park I'm not happy. And that's for a 1-2 block walk to Ballpark Village.

- With dynamic pricing, we won't pay more than $5 a ticket (with fees) through Stubhub unless we want to see a special game (Opening Day, Cubs weekend, etc). If you buy from Cardinals.com, Sunday home games come with a FREE soda and hot dog. You can also get free ice cream before the game. And if you buy from Cardinals.com during flash sales, you can get $5 tickets loaded with $5 concession credits. I load up on those and get a $5 game, then buy a $10 beer for $5 after the credit. That's $10 for a ballgame and a beer. And if you drink Busch, they are $5 up until first pitch. So you can get a seat and beer for $5 total.

To bring 4 people, we'll pay $20 in tickets, $10 in beers (two craft beers for two adults after concession credit), and typically $2 to park. That's $32 for a ballgame, beer, and parking. Then we'll carry in two Sauce on the Side calzones (which each feed two people) and two sodas, so $26 more for dinner. $58 for a family of four to park, watch the game, and have dinner and drinks. I do recognize that I'm in St. Louis, so a flight/hotel/rental car are not things I have to worry about.

If I had a choice between no carry-in's but cheaper concessions, and the current state of carry-in's allowed but expensive concessions, I'll take what we have all day long.

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CardsofSTL
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by CardsofSTL »

I enjoyed the article... Thanks for posting.

Hoot you need to start spending more money if we're going to sign Harper.

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JCShutout
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by JCShutout »

People could also just go 2-3 hours without eating or drinking.

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InvincibleCakeEater
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by InvincibleCakeEater »

JCShutout wrote:People could also just go 2-3 hours without eating or drinking.
When I'm at a game I want beers, brats, nachos and dogs.

Diddy
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by Diddy »

Hoot45 wrote:Fun story, interesting stuff they are doing in Atlanta. Thanks for sharing. And Happy Thanksgiving to all as well! I agree it would be interesting to know more about how the concession agreements are structured at the ballpark.
Like what? I might know, I have inside info about that.

I’m friends with a concessionaire there and have talked with him about it throughout the process. I know that they had a lot of issues working out a menu that was what they wanted, the quality they wanted, and at the Falcons prices. They have to provide extra staff to staff a bar and sell drinks that they get no return off of. They have sold out of food almost every game but don’t make any money. I’m not sure if the pricing is different or just the demographic but they do well at United games.

Diddy
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by Diddy »

Pricing is the same for all events at the dome. One thing they have found is that it’s really cut back on tailgating and people come into the stadium much earlier.

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Hoot45
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by Hoot45 »

CardsofSTL wrote:Hoot you need to start spending more money if we're going to sign Harper.
Wait, isn't that what the baby blue jersey is for?

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CardsofSTL
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by CardsofSTL »

Hoot45 wrote:
CardsofSTL wrote:Hoot you need to start spending more money if we're going to sign Harper.
Wait, isn't that what the baby blue jersey is for?

That's to maintain our supply of dry powder

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cardsfansince82
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Re: Hot Dog Hail Mary

Post by cardsfansince82 »

I just wanna know where you can park for $2. East St Louis?

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