WSJ -- Dodgers Lure Fans Out to Right-Field Bleachers With All-You-Can-Eat Hot Dogs, Nachos
May 16, 2007
Free Eats Sell Bad Ballpark Seats
Dodgers Lure Fans Out to Right-Field Bleachers With All-You-Can-Eat Hot Dogs, Nachos
By ADAM THOMPSON and JON WEINBACH
The view of the ballgame from the right-field pavilion isn't exactly the best Dodger Stadium has to offer, but Bryan Collins was enjoying the evening anyway. Even before the second inning had begun, he had eaten six hot dogs. Before the side was retired, he had also consumed a bag of peanuts and several handfuls of cheese-drenched nachos.
And Mr. Collins, a lanky 16-year-old from La Cañada, Calif., didn't plan to stop there. "We'll see if my stomach can handle it," he said. Nearly a dozen of his friends were similarly engaged.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are rolling out a new marketing experiment: They're betting that several thousand of their fans will stomach steep price increases for some of the worst seats in the stadium, in return for being able to eat all the hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos and soda they can handle. Tickets range from $20 to $40 apiece, depending on the allure of the match-up and whether they are bought by groups or individuals.
High-end seating areas in sports venues have long offered all-you-can-eat food as part of the package. But the Dodgers are at the vanguard of a new trend -- letting hoi polloi in on the buffet. Dodgers executives say a handful of other teams across pro sports have already contacted them about copying the concept, including the Philadelphia-based owners of the National Basketball Association's 76ers and the National Hockey League's Flyers. While teams such as the NHL's Florida Panthers and baseball's St. Louis Cardinals have tried this with cheaper seats -- at the Cardinals' Busch Stadium, inclusive packages even include even beer -- these tickets still cost $60 or more.
The Dodgers have a strong attendance record -- they were second in the majors in each of the previous three seasons and also rank second so far this year (the Yankees are first), according to Major League Baseball. But the right-field pavilion, which can hold 3,000 people, often sat empty in past seasons, opening only if the left-field seats sold out or for large groups. The seats were priced accordingly, going for between $6 and $8 in 2006. But this year, the pavilion, now called the "ampm All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion" (after its sponsor, the ampm convenience stores of BP PLC's BP America unit) has sold out eight of the Dodgers' first 18 home games.
The all-you-can-eat model has been a staple in the casino and cruise industries for years, but more recently it has spread into other realms, including amusement parks. In some cases, it serves as a loss leader -- casinos, for example, use it as a way to get people in the door so they will then drop more money at the slot machines and card tables. But for plenty of restaurants, buffet-style dining is profitable because in many cases, diners' eyes are bigger than their stomachs. The Dodgers say they expect their new venture to make money at some point; even if it doesn't, though, the pavilion fans are spending on parking, merchandise and even additional food and drinks. The ticket package doesn't include beer, candy or ice cream.
"How much can you really eat?" says Pat Moreo, chairman of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas's food and beverage department. "People are going to be full. But the perception is, 'Boy, did I get a great deal on it.' "
Teams and other businesses also like the all-inclusive packages because they get their money upfront. "Everyone pays the same rate, the team estimates their costs, knowing some will eat more, some will eat less," says Chris Bigelow, president of Bigelow Cos., a sports-industry food-service consultant. "And in the long run they have a customer who is willing to pay more for a ticket, from which the team earns more."
While Dodger fans seem to be gobbling up the new ticket package, those worried about Americans' expanding waistlines aren't too happy about it. The Dodgers estimate that the average fan in the right-field pavilion consumes about 2½ hot dogs, one bag of peanuts or popcorn, and one plate of nachos a game. (The team doesn't keep averages on drinks because they are self-serve.)
"Before, you had to pay a premium to get the bad food," says Jim Marks, senior vice president and director of the health group Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a foundation that gives money to improve health and health care. "Now, you get the bad food at a discount, and to get the discount you've really got to gorge yourself."
Marty Greenspun, the Dodgers' executive vice president and chief operating officer, says that characterization is unfair. "This isn't really about gluttony. This is about fan amenity and cost certainty," he says.
At Dodger Stadium the night Bryan Collins sat in the pavilion, fans from every walk of life -- from a retired book publisher to a Marine just back from Iraq -- lugged trays loaded with food to their bench seats. The all-you-can-eat food stands open an hour and a half before game time and close two hours after the first batter steps to the plate. Fans were filling up long before the national anthem and continued lining up deep into the game. Because no money is exchanged between fans and servers, there's virtually no wait time at the stands, which were well-staffed.
"You can get four hot dogs at a time," said Mr. Collins. "We've been talking about doing this for a while."
Write to Adam Thompson at adam.thompson@wsj.com and Jon Weinbach at jonathan.weinbach@wsj.com
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