On Game Days, Would You Attend a Pre-Game Happy Hour in the Stadium with Discounted Food & Drinks?

[billsfan89]

Inspired by all the recent new-stadium talk, I had an idea for the Bills to offer fans a good non-tailgating pregame option.

 

If, for a 1 PM kickoff, the gates opened at 11 AM and all food and drinks were offered at significantly reduced prices (think Atlanta’s “Fan First” pricing) until 12:30 PM, effectively creating a 90-minute pregame “happy hour,” would you take advantage of it? And, hell, give season-ticket holders an extra 30 minutes until 1 PM (Utilize an app with a QR code or something).

 

I love a good tailgate, but the atmosphere isn't always family-friendly, and it can also be a bit cumbersome having to prepare and bring everything you need. Some people may also simply want to get to the new stadium well before the game starts and check it out. I think offering a 90-minute window with reasonably priced food and drinks would give fans a legitimate alternative to tailgating. It would still give tailgaters plenty of flexibility, too. You could tailgate from 9–11:30, head into the stadium, check things out, top off your drink, and grab a cheap snack before kickoff.

What I really like about this idea is that it makes sense from all sides.

 

From the Bills’ perspective: They probably don't sell a ton of food and drinks between 11 AM and 12:30 PM anyway. And because fans aren't a truly “captive” audience yet, you can't simply charge stadium prices and expect everyone to pay when they have the option of eating and drinking in the parking lot. Ending the discounted pricing 30+ minutes before kickoff also allows the Bills to transition back to normal stadium pricing when fans become more of a captive audience.

 

On top of that, it would be a nice goodwill gesture toward fans. It could generate some positive PR, likely at little to no additional cost, while also improving the overall fan experience by getting more people into the stadium earlier and reducing the rush that typically happens in the 30–45 minutes before kickoff.

 

From the fans’ perspective:  This takes nothing away from anyone. Prefer to tailgate? Go for it. You can still enter the stadium whenever you want. Don't want to deal with the hassle of tailgating, or want a more family-friendly option? You can arrive when the gates open, get reasonably priced food and drinks, and spend some time checking out everything the new stadium has to offer.

 

If the Bills offered something like this, would you take advantage of it?

[Gregg]

In the parking lot cooking on the grill and drinking beer is what I always do going to games.

[Kirby Jackson]

I voted no but not because it’s a bad idea. I just like our routine. We make a move towards the stadium an hour before kickoff. If we can still get discounted drinks when we enter 30 minutes or so before kickoff, great. I won’t change my routine for it though.

[eball]

If I was not in the club I would vote yes to this in a heartbeat...and I still might.

 

[billsfan89]

6 minutes ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I voted no but not because it’s a bad idea. I just like our routine. We make a move towards the stadium an hour before kickoff. If we can still get discounted drinks when we enter 30 minutes or so before kickoff, great. I won’t change my routine for it though.

 

It's something that I think just gives fans more options but doesn't take anything away (you like your routine stick with it). In fact if you get 20-30% of fans in earlier than they normally would have it probably makes it easier for you to get into the stadium 40-30 minutes before kickoff because there's less fans coming in during peak hours. 

[eball]

I wonder if the Bills might think this was competing with their paid tailgate experiences they're now selling?

 

[GunnerBill]

They do it at Arsenal as well. Ground opens 3 hours before game and fan first half price pints until 90 mins before.

[Coach Tuesday]

I voted "yes" because I don't have any friends who invite me to tailgates.

[billsfan89]

5 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

They do it at Arsenal as well. Ground opens 3 hours before game and fan first half price pints until 90 mins before.

I am shocked an NFL team doesn’t do this, it seems like an easy way to ease foot traffic later in the day and get money that otherwise you would not get when people are tailgating 

[Metal Man]

They had this at the Titans stadium when I went there for a Bills game in 19.

 

We stumbled on it by accident because our original intent was to check out an area in front of the stadium where they had live music and some beer/food options but it started to pour so we just went inside a little after 10am. Turned out to be the better move as we were able to walk around to check out the stadium with hardly any crowds and save some money as well.

 

IIRC it was half price miller lite tall boy cans and some half priced food options from 10-11. 

 

That being said I would definitely check something like this out if the Bills offered it.

[PromoTheRobot]

18 hours ago, Kirby Jackson said:

I voted no but not because it’s a bad idea. I just like our routine. We make a move towards the stadium an hour before kickoff. If we can still get discounted drinks when we enter 30 minutes or so before kickoff, great. I won’t change my routine for it though.

 

That's great and I applaud you. But my game day experience is quite different. Since I come in from hundreds of miles, and usually have to head back right after, I don't bring a tailgate with me. So for me, having a restaurant on the stadium grounds, ala Patriots Place, or the above mentioned Happy Hour concept, is perfect for me. There's no reason the two can't coexist.

 

The Sabres used to have a pregame buffet in the 1970 Club. I loved it, though I only hit it a couple times. Sadly they turned that into a club seats only thing so I can't go anymore.

Edited August 13 by PromoTheRobot

[Goin Breakdown]

I could see this happening but it would look something like save a dollar when buy 2, $25.00 hotdogs. These places aren't in it for your savings. 

[billsfan89]

1 minute ago, Goin Breakdown said:

I could see this happening but it would look something like save a dollar when buy 2, $25.00 hotdogs. These places aren't in it for your savings. 

 

From the teams perspective you have to offer enough of a savings to attract fans to choose your food over eating their food in the parking lot. 1-2 hours before the game fans aren't a captive audience. So economics wise you get people into the stadium buying significantly discounted food and drinks at a time when they would be outside the stadium not pouring money to you inside the stadium. So the discount would have to be big enough to entice people over from the parking lot. Otherwise it just doesn't work. 

[JP51]

I would do it to check it out maybe, but it wouldnt replace my existing pre game stuff. 

[mushypeaches]

I would guess that there are insurance reasons why they don't do this.  

[billsfan89]

18 hours ago, eball said:

I wonder if the Bills might think this was competing with their paid tailgate experiences they're now selling?

 

 

Genuinely asking, how much do they sell that experience for and do people buy it up? I also wonder how much tickets do they sell for this? Overall, if they are only selling 1-2k tickets to the pre-game tailgate that's a relatively small percentage of fans overall that a pre-game happy hour wouldn't compete too much with. 

[Gugny]

Would dizzy bat be allowed?

[Jauronimo]

OOhh, like a pre game mixer? Or maybe a social? Passed apps on little toothpicks and I'm in. Would there be networking?!?!

[billsfan89]

Just now, mushypeaches said:

I would guess that there are insurance reasons why they don't do this.  

 

Don't they already open the gates at 11 am for games? Seems like it would just require you to have more food vendors. If the gates are already open at 11 am then I would imagine security and insurance is already covered. I'm trying to figure out what added costs besides having more vendors selling food earlier for increased demand. 

[Jauronimo]

There's no way that discounted food and drinks can beat the price of beer and food I'm getting in the parking lot....paid for by my dad and kind strangers.