$5 beers and $2 hot dogs: Will Fan Friendly Pricing catch on?

[QCity]

 

 

Since demolishing the Georgia Dome and opening their state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz stadium right next door, the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons have re-written the rules when it comes to concession sales.

[BuffaloBill]

The key to what they are doing is removing the “I’m going to be ripped off if I buy here” factor.

[plenzmd1]

The Bills have discussed this, but I am not quite sure why they have not moved forward on it. 

 

I always wonder how much the Bills sell relative to other teams in concessions outside of beer anyway. I mean they could make those dogs free, and I still would not eat as I am full from the tailgate anyway. 

 

Only food i ever see anyone get is pizza...and that is rare as it is

[row_33]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBill said:

The key to what they are doing is removing the “I’m going to be ripped off if I buy here” factor.

 

 

Going to a game with that mood is hilarious and pitiful all at the same time.

 

[Gugny]

2 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

The Bills have discussed this, but I am not quite sure why they have not moved forward on it. 

 

I always wonder how much the Bills sell relative to other teams in concessions outside of beer anyway. I mean they could make those dogs free, and I still would not eat as I am full from the tailgate anyway. 

 

Only food i ever see anyone get is pizza...and that is rare as it is

 

I've always said, "if you're hungry during the game, then you're tailgating with the wrong people."

[Steve O]

The Masters has used this model for decades

 

https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2018/04/04/2018-masters-concessions-menu-food-choices-food-prices-augusta-national-109068/

2018 Masters food menu and prices

SANDWICHES

Egg Salad - $1.50
Pimento Cheese - $1.50
Bar-B-Que - $3.00
Masters Club - $2.50
Grilled Chicken Wrap - $3.00
Classic Chicken Sandwich - $3.00
Ham & Cheese on Rye - $2.50
Turkey & Cheese on Wheat - $2.50

Masters Blend Fresh Brewed Coffee - $1.50
Sausage Biscuit - $1.50
Chicken Biscuit - $1.50
Blueberry Muffin - $1.00
Fresh Mixed Fruit - $2.00

BEVERAGES

Soft Drinks - $2.00 (up from $1.50 in 2015)
Bottled Water - $2.00
Fresh Brewed Iced Tea - $2.00 (up from $1.50 in 2015)
Domestic Beer - $4.00
Import Beer - $5.00
American Craft Beer - $5.00 (not on the menu in 2015)

SNACKS

Candy/Chips - $1.00
Peanuts/Crackers - $1.00
Cookie - $1.50
Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich - $2.00
Georgia Pecan Caramel Popcorn - $1.50

[Another Fan]

It’s been years since I’ve been to a Bills game but I think this fan base isn’t the type who goes there to be seen, enjoy the restaurants....

 

Im pretty hyper focused on the game itself to really be eating at it.  Can’t be bothered.  Plus the lines can be a pain.  I mean maybe the more trendy stadiums this sort of thing works?  

[The Senator]

6 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

The Bills have discussed this, but I am not quite sure why they have not moved forward on it. 

 

I always wonder how much the Bills sell relative to other teams in concessions outside of beer anyway. I mean they could make those dogs free, and I still would not eat as I am full from the tailgate anyway. 

 

Only food i ever see anyone get is pizza...and that is rare as it is

 

It’s ‘ National Pizza Day’ today, Feb 9.

 

Slices are a buck @ Casa di Pizza.

 

Labatt Blue is, as always, 4 bucks a pint.

 

Good day to enjoy a 1PM Sabres game and the UB Bulls @ 3:30, on the cheap.

 

(But I LOVE those prices at Augusta!)

.

Edited February 9, 2019 by The Senator

[Punching Bag]

4 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

I've always said, "if you're hungry during the game, then you're tailgating with the wrong people."

 

That rule should apply to drinking as well.

[Gugny]

1 minute ago, Limeaid said:

 

That rule should apply to drinking as well.

 

I'll take "Things That Make Absolutely No Sense," for $800, Alex.

[Augie]

2 hours ago, Steve O said:

The Masters has used this model for decades

 

https://thegolfnewsnet.com/golfnewsnetteam/2018/04/04/2018-masters-concessions-menu-food-choices-food-prices-augusta-national-109068/

2018 Masters food menu and prices

SANDWICHES

Egg Salad - $1.50
Pimento Cheese - $1.50
Bar-B-Que - $3.00
Masters Club - $2.50
Grilled Chicken Wrap - $3.00
Classic Chicken Sandwich - $3.00
Ham & Cheese on Rye - $2.50
Turkey & Cheese on Wheat - $2.50

Masters Blend Fresh Brewed Coffee - $1.50
Sausage Biscuit - $1.50
Chicken Biscuit - $1.50
Blueberry Muffin - $1.00
Fresh Mixed Fruit - $2.00

BEVERAGES

Soft Drinks - $2.00 (up from $1.50 in 2015)
Bottled Water - $2.00
Fresh Brewed Iced Tea - $2.00 (up from $1.50 in 2015)
Domestic Beer - $4.00
Import Beer - $5.00
American Craft Beer - $5.00 (not on the menu in 2015)

SNACKS

Candy/Chips - $1.00
Peanuts/Crackers - $1.00
Cookie - $1.50
Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich - $2.00
Georgia Pecan Caramel Popcorn - $1.50

 

I have enjoyed the Masters prices, and I have enjoyed Mercedes Benz Stadium prices. Both are great, but the Masters wins because you can actually buy the food without having to miss half the event in line. We went to the Bills/Falcons game in Atlanta and I was in early enough to get a cheap hot dog and a beer. Three times I went back for more and the line was so long and slow I gave up. That’s just not right!

 

Hopefully they have straightened that out. The last time we went was for Atlanta United, and our son’s GF had passes thru work for the Suntrust Club. THAT is the way to go! Open bar and free food includes carving stations and actual good food! People go hours early and stay late. I did not even think of the concession stands that day!  ? 

[BADOLBILZ]

7 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

The Bills have discussed this, but I am not quite sure why they have not moved forward on it. 

 

I always wonder how much the Bills sell relative to other teams in concessions outside of beer anyway. I mean they could make those dogs free, and I still would not eat as I am full from the tailgate anyway. 

 

Only food i ever see anyone get is pizza...and that is rare as it is

 

 

When I first heard about that *cheap* pricing my first thought was that the concourse at New Era would be so congested you could hardly move thru it.    New Era is not roomy like some of these spacious new palaces.

 

And of course.............as a grocery chain like Wegmans could tell you.........it's often better to charge 3x more than they have to and sell a lot less of an item then to price it cheap and sell a lot more and have to dedicate the time and space to a lower margin item and risk huge inventory losses and other expenses.      

 

 

 

[Steve O]

3 minutes ago, Augie said:

 

I have enjoyed the Masters prices, and I have enjoyed Mercedes Benz Stadium prices. Both are great, but the Masters wins because you can actually buy the food without having to miss half the event in line. We went to the Bills/Falcons game in Atlanta and I was in early enough to get a cheap hot dog and a beer. Three times I went back for more and the line was so long and slow I gave up. That’s just not right!

 

Hopefully they have straightened that out. The last time we went was for Atlanta United, and our son’s GF had passes thru work for the Suntrust Club. THAT is the way to go! Open bar and free food includes carving stations and actual good food! People go hours early and stay late. I did not even think of the concession stands that day!  ? 

If you've been to the Master's, even if just a practice round, color me green with envy. Suntrust Club sounds nice as well.

[Augie]

 

 

P.S. - The Masters has all the money in the world, so they don’t need to get rich off of us. The money we have is just the money they let us hold onto, however briefly. But walking those hills can build up an appetite. If you haven’t been there, TV does not fully capture the terrain. It really is something to see and behold! (Now, I’ll flip back to Pebble Beach.....no slouch there either!) 

 

 

. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by Augie

[Augie]

1 minute ago, Steve O said:

If you've been to the Master's, even if just a practice round, color me green with envy. Suntrust Club sounds nice as well.

We did get in on a Thursday a few years ago. It’s absolutely magnificent. I would almost rather be there for a practice round, especially over the madhouse of a Sunday.....despite how well managed it is. I used to live on the 10th green of th Harbor Town course where the tour goes the week after the Masters. It was cool seeing those guys I watched so intently the week before on TV coming thru my back yard! “LOOK! They’re real people!!!” 

 

A good friend has golfed Pebble Beach and he’s captivated right now, many years later just watching on TV. I get it! I had a few beers on the back veranda and it’s hard to describe. Unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced. I’m not a golf freak by any means, but God made some beautiful stuff there! (I don’t think it was the beer.....)

[ExiledInIllinois]

8 hours ago, plenzmd1 said:

The Bills have discussed this, but I am not quite sure why they have not moved forward on it. 

 

I always wonder how much the Bills sell relative to other teams in concessions outside of beer anyway. I mean they could make those dogs free, and I still would not eat as I am full from the tailgate anyway. 

 

Only food i ever see anyone get is pizza...and that is rare as it is

There you have it.  But you probably knew it.

 

I think you answered your own question.  The Bills know they can't move to this model with the tailgate scene the way it is.

 

Move away from the old parking, tailgate model... And the numbers warrant it.  Right now, the local (heck, not just local) supermarkets are garnering that extra $$$$ people spend. That is, when people get their tailgating provisions for the game.  

 

We are sweater wearers and cooler toters in Buffalo. Football DYIers.  It's like coolers in a amusement park.  Remember the old days, when you could bring anything you wanted in? If they'd allow that now... Go back to having grills, shelters, tables IN the park (not 2,000 feet outside park behind smelly dumpsters) and they'd have to change 20 bucks a cheeseburger.  Just imagine if (like we would do @ Crystal Beach when I was a kid) everybody went to their car for lunch @ DisneyWorld, Cedarpoint... Prices would skyrocket...

 

...On that note, you see it @ ski resorts.  They save the prime seating in lodge/chalet for the people buying.  The crockpot toters, fondue-ers get relegated to the not so prime parts of the lodge.

 

It's like healthcare (young & healthy kicking in)... LoL... IFF everybody kicks in to "the pool" (starts buying from stadium vendors),  prices MAY go down. That's a big may.  Depends on what the real numbers are.

 

And I am just a dumbazz liberal economist (oxymoron?) and I figured this out.  In Buffalo, it just won't work, the Bills will lose their shirt on us cheap-azz Carhartt (sweaters if you prefer) wearers and cooler toters.

 

Change culture in WNY, you may see the crappy grub stadium vendors sell go down in price.  Just like at all the other terrible NFL venues that have the luxury of attempting this pricing model.

 

 

Edited February 9, 2019 by ExiledInIllinois

[Misterbluesky]

22 minutes ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

There you have it.  But you probably knew it.

 

I think you answered your own question.  The Bills know they can't move to this model with the tailgate scene the way it is.

 

Move away from the old parking, tailgate model... And the numbers warrant it.  Right now, the local (heck, not just local) supermarkets are garnering that extra $$$$ people spend. That is, when people get their tailgating provisions for the game.  

 

We are sweater wearers and cooler toters in Buffalo. Football DYIers.  It's like coolers in a amusement park.  Remember the old days, when you could bring anything you wanted in? If they'd allow that now... Go back to having grills, shelters, tables IN the park (not 2,000 feet outside park behind smelly dumpsters) and they'd have to change 20 bucks a cheeseburger.  Just imagine if (like we would do @ Crystal Beach when I was a kid) everybody went to their car for lunch @ DisneyWorld, Cedarpoint... Prices would skyrocket...

 

...On that note, you see it @ ski resorts.  They save the prime seating in lodge/chalet for the people buying.  The crockpot toters, fondue-ers get relegated to the not so prime parts of the lodge.

 

It's like healthcare (young & healthy kicking in)... LoL... IFF everybody kicks in to "the pool" (starts buying from stadium vendors),  prices MAY go down. That's a big may.  Depends on what the real numbers are.

 

And I am just a dumbazz liberal economist (oxymoron?) and I figured this out.  In Buffalo, it just won't work, the Bills will lose their shirt on us cheap-azz Carhartt (sweaters if you prefer) wearers and cooler toters.

 

Change culture in WNY, you may see the crappy grub stadium vendors sell go down in price.  Just like at all the other terrible NFL venues that have the luxury of attempting this pricing model.

 

 

112 or so I nailed a pretty good pulled pork mobile stand..I was in101 then,easy walk..9 seats.It was so good..I would go in the 4th qtr so I could take a few home.

 

I wonder if that vendor still exists..I'm thinking Kentucky Greg?

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 hour ago, Augie said:

 

I have enjoyed the Masters prices, and I have enjoyed Mercedes Benz Stadium prices. Both are great, but the Masters wins because you can actually buy the food without having to miss half the event in line. We went to the Bills/Falcons game in Atlanta and I was in early enough to get a cheap hot dog and a beer. Three times I went back for more and the line was so long and slow I gave up. That’s just not right!

 

Hopefully they have straightened that out. The last time we went was for Atlanta United, and our son’s GF had passes thru work for the Suntrust Club. THAT is the way to go! Open bar and free food includes carving stations and actual good food! People go hours early and stay late. I did not even think of the concession stands that day!  ? 

Watching golf is like watching paint dry for 3 days.  Not 3 hours just saying.

 

They are getting their $$$$ other ways.  It's more an elite game.  Sport of Kings.  They can throw the food on the cheap to the Coastal Elites in the gallery.

 

I mean no offense by this.

[DrW]

Just last December, Texas Tech decided to reduce the price for popcorn, hot dogs, and nachos to $2. They will also start to sell beer and wine. I just hope the beer selection will go beyond Bud Light and Coors Light. Interestingly, the motivation to allow beer and wine sales was not the revenue, but the hope that the stadium will no longer be half-empty in the 4th quarter of a one-sided game.

Edited February 9, 2019 by DrW

[Augie]

1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

Watching golf is like watching paint dry for 3 days.  Not 3 hours just saying.

 

They are getting their $$$$ other ways.  It's more an elite game.  Sport of Kings.  They can throw the food on the cheap to the Coastal Elites in the gallery.

 

I mean no offense by this.

 

I take no offense, and I would wonder about the sanity of anyone who didn’t appreciate the Masters in person. Augusta National and Pebble Beach are among the most beautiful places on the planet. Muir Woods, the Rockies, there is a beautiful planet out there, and this stuff is fairly high on the list. It’s not at all about the golf for me. I watch the Tour de France at times as a travel show to see the countryside and the old monasteries. I figure the guys on the bikes are probably cheating, but I’ve never been to that part of the world. (I hate that, BTW)  Golf is just OK, cycling does nothing for me, but this is some of God’s most beatiful work! 

 

As for getting their money, they don’t NEED money. Is it elite? Absolutely! I don’t resent that, however. Remember when there was a member gender issue and they just went without paid commercials at the Masters? “We don’t need your money, it’s about the golf” was the message. They’d like more, sure. But it’s not what drives Augusta National.