Posted on 09/09/2018 12:40:15 PM PDT by Eddie01
As the NFL kicks off its regular season, some sports teams are experimenting with a secret ingredient to help reverse declining attendance: cheaper food.
Recently, the Detroit Lions announced concession discounts for the first hour after gates open at the stadium, with $5 beers and lower-priced meal combos available at certain stands throughout the rest of the game. Lions Team President Rod Wood explained in a statement that the team’s program aims to serve fans “without hurting the quality or speed of service.”
To be sure, concession sales are relatively inconsequential to an athletic team’s overall revenue, experts say. Still, cheaper prices can provide a sentiment boost; and for fans vacillating on whether to spend money on a game ticket, it can work as an added incentive.
With an increasing number of fans opting to watch in the comfort of their own homes, arenas are facing more competition than ever for getting fans through the door. The dynamic “speaks to the incredible amount of competition that exists for consumer share of mind and wallet,” said Columbia University sports management professor Scott Rosner.
In July, the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks announced plans to slice concession stand prices in half, becoming the first professional basketball team to offer what it called “fan-friendly” pricing.
The move comes as the team – which last season suffered the worst attendance record in professional basketball – awaits the completion of a $193 million renovation of State Farm Arena that management hopes will help excite the fan base and fill seats.
The Hawks are Atlanta’s third pro franchise to offer cheaper food stand prices, following moves a year earlier by the NFL’s Falcons and Major League Soccer’s Atlanta United, when they moved into the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Both teams topped fan satisfaction surveys that measure food and beverage experiences at sports venues. Meanwhile, Falcons data showed that average per-fan spending on concessions soared 16 percent over the 2016 season, with the trend continuing into last season.
Deep price cuts may cost stadiums needed revenue, but according to NYU sports management professor Wayne McDonell, it’s a relatively low-risk bet. When fans are saving on concessions, they may be more willing to spend elsewhere, like on merchandise or tickets to other games, he said.
“I think we saw that with the Falcons,” McDonell told CNBC recently, citing “the accessibility and affordability of food” as a way to help fans feel invested in the game.
Would be better if they offered up players who could read and weren’t *sswipes & felons.
What is the price of a beer during the game?
Most stadiums, no matter what sport will struggle to get people in the complex and to the game.
Food prices isn’t the reason, the sport might not even be the reason.
In essence it comes down to comfort level, security, and attention spans.
Older die-hard fans are dying off. Millennials and younger fans don’t like the idea of fighting crowds to get to an arena or stadium, much less waste 4 hours of their time to watch the event and actually focus on it.
The couch is still the best seat in the house and it’s a growing concern for all Pro Leagues these days.
This falls flat with me.
Concessions are so expensive at the game, that we normally eat dinner before, and don’t even think about buying anything. Maybe I’m.a minority. Also, the occasional hot dog or other things we get are nothing special. It’s not enough to make us say, wow, tonight is game night, can’t wait to dig into the stadium food...
Maybe I’m.a minority but the game is what draws me in, not food.
NFL stands for “ no Flag league” I wouldn’t go if the damned tickets and food were free and you picked me up in a helicopter !!
Nobody is boycotting NFL because of the food, as those effing morons know full well.
Bread and Circuses...
KNEEL MORE!!!
If concession prices don’t affect revenue why is one beer $14?
I am sitting at the Diamondbacks game where I just got myself a $4 beer and a $2 hot dog
They jacked up beer prices to keep the “fans” from getting too liquored up and fighting making for an unfriendly atmosphere for families.
Then their refusal to discipline an America hating BLM douche created an unacceptable atmosphere for families.
Screw the NFL. The Nike &Felons league
What’s the big deal? They don’t want hetero white males to attend anyway.
Yep how many focus on the game?
I have attended some games in recent years, and I swear lots of people are playing with a cellular phone, and yakking with friends, and not watching the game, and they aren’t talking about the game .
It makes you wonder why are they even at the game. Is it just a social event for a lot of people?
It’s a contrast from my youth. I recall going to many ball games, and actually talking baseball with the guy sitting by you, and my fellow fans were clearly knowledgeable about the game. Today, too many fans just aren’t like that.
The sales are “relatively inconsequential”
So why not offer good food and drink at much more reasonable prices?
Oh wait, they’re not so “relatively inconsequential” to all the hands that feed from the “Concessions” trough
Doesn’t matter to me anyway. I am DONE for LIFE, nfl
Take Nike and Kaep and all your other losers (owners, Commish, players) and stick them up you Collective Colins
LOL, the Cleveland Indians may have been onto something...
The Ballad of Ten-Cent Beer Night
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dh2g0TUKgc
They charge $50 for parking!! They need to give beer away!
I’m a fan of college football, and in particular, the University of Southern California. Some of my pet peeves include TV time-outs which lengthen the game by about an hour, 7:45 PM kickoffs, which mean that I get home after midnight if I want to see the whole game, and disco and heavy-metal music played over the PA system that drowns out the school bands on the field.
Doing away with these annoyances would make the experience of attending a game more enjoyable. But it seems that the trend is to take more actions to antagonize the fans such as scheduling games on weekdays, which forces fans to fight commuter traffic to get to the stadium and disrupts the educational mission of a university like USC, which is next to the stadium.
Lol. They think attendance is down because people are watching at home. Lololol.
Get rid of the felons first.
Lol. They think attendance is down because people are watching at home. Lololol.
Get rid of the felons first.
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