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The Atlanta Braves are doing all they can to get more butts in the seats at Turner Field. In addition to offering some of the most affordable season ticket packages in baseball (as low a $370), the Braves will now give season ticket holders one-third off most* food and beverage. Here is their spiel:
The Atlanta Braves are thrilled to announce our newest and tastiest benefit exclusively for Season Ticket Holders. In 2012 Braves Season Ticket Holders will receive 33% OFF FOOD AND BEVERAGES AT TURNER FIELD!* Braves Season Tickets are already a great investment, and now you will save even more when attending games. Best of all, the discount is completely transferable to friends, family and clients who use your Braves tickets.
Enjoy hot dogs, pizza, BBQ, McCann Burgers, soft drinks, and more for 33% OFF the regular price all season! Simply present your Season Ticket or seat locator upon checkout at participating Turner Field concession locations to take advantage of this discount.
McCann Burgers, eh? Heap burgers...
Now, before you think you'll be able to buy beers at 2005 prices, read the fine print*:
This discount does not apply to alcoholic beverages, and is not valid at the following locations: Chick-fil-A, 755 Club, Chop House, Georgia's Own Credit Union Club, at all portable or temporary stands (including Dippin'Dots, Bavarian Nuts, Sno Cones, etc.), roaming/in-seat vendors, or Club Level Action Stations.
What! No discount Dippin'Dots?
All jokes aside, I was figuring out how to present this and I was going to go with a making-fun-of-it angle, but then I realized that this is a pretty good little perk. And season ticket holders should get more perks like this. The Braves already hold special events before and during the season for season ticket holders, but by offering additional in-game perks they should attract more people to buy season tickets. Especially since this is a perk on something that people attending games are likely going to buy anyway.
So it's a good start, even a great start, but now they have to offer half-prices beer for season ticket holders. With as many degenerate drunks as we have in Atlanta people as there are who like beer in Atlanta, it only makes sense. So here's my challenge to the Braves front office: I dare you to cut the price of beer in half for season ticket holders. And if you do, then I will buy two season tickets.
0 recs | 29 comments
Sadly, I’ve never had dippin dots. Just seem over priced for what you get.
I do like lemon ice (not lemon colored snow).
Sparhawk - January 23, 2012
McCann's burgers are the shiz.
They toast the bun and cook them as they are ordered, so you get them REALLY fresh and hot. And the place is kinda tucked away on the side of the main gift shop so there’s usually little or no line.
I wouldn’t recommend eating there often unless you really want to have a heart attack but for every once-in-a-while they’re great. My son (14) and I love that place!
Almost forgot-fries are “meh” but the shakes are really good.
blairblink - January 23, 2012
Sold.
TheLetter2 - January 23, 2012
Calling all economists:
Major league ballparks charge absurdly high prices for beer, as we all know, but is this the most profitable approach?
Personally, the price is so high that I don’t buy beer at the ballpark, but my preference would be to buy 1 or 2 beers at a game. As a consumer/fan, I could reconcile a reasonable mark-up, but I wonder if their astronomical mark-up deters enough purchases that it offsets the additional profit earned by the mark-up.
Does anyone else feel like a bit of a fool for paying $7.50 for a Bud Light ? Even if we tell ourselves it’s okay because we are just having a good time at the ballpark (which is true), it’s hard to not have that enjoyment tinged by being fleeced a bit.
So, yes, discount the beer and I would be that much closer to buying season tickets on principle.
Pope Vanderbilt - January 23, 2012
Here’s a good article/graph outlining the cheapest and most expensive ballparks for a beer.
Arizona only charges $4 for a beer. Which still probably yields incredible profit.
Pope Vanderbilt - January 23, 2012
Presumably the finance departments of sporting venues have a large body of experience to track elasticities of goods like beer in whatever region of the country the venues are in, so my guess is that they’re already optimally priced wherever they are, certain individuals’ lack of desire to pay tons of dough for a glass notwithstanding.
I would be really surprised to find out that they just randomly priced items at whatever they thought was a good idea, rather than doing research into the optimal price.
Ivan the Great - January 23, 2012
Clearly they have priced the beer according to their research. I guess what I am expressing is that I’d like to see their research and see what variables are taken into account.
According to my profile as a consumer, it’s a poor strategy, since I (1) Drink beer, (2) Want to drink beer at the ballpark, but (3) Don’t purchase the beer because of the price.
What I am really wondering is if lowering the price to say $5.00 would both increase profit and allow moderate drinkers a better ballgame experience.
I think concerns over more “drunks” is likely misplaced, because if people are really drinking to get drunk, they are likely going to pay whatever is necessary since they are willing to invest in at least the 4 – 5 beers (unless they weigh 85 pounds) required to get drunk. I think the amount of drunkenness is fairly static so long as prices are lowered to irresistible levels whereby folks are buying just because it’s such a “great deal.”
Pope Vanderbilt - January 23, 2012
*so long as prices are not lowered…
Pope Vanderbilt - January 23, 2012
I think the drunk thing is a major concern.
You say people are drinking to get drunk, and I agree in that there are some of those people, regardless of the price. However, the crowd that is willing to get drunk is a vastly larger segment than the segment that intends to get drunk. Then you have the may accidentally get drunk crowd segment on top of that.
With significantly lower beer prices, the chances that those fans end up getting out of hand is much greater. The price keeps most people’s drinking level somewhere akin to “pleasant social occasion,” which is where you’d like to keep the crowd on the whole.
-C
cthabeerman - January 23, 2012
I agree with your assessment that “pleasant social occasion” is the aim. I was trying to make the argument for the fan who drinks a couple of beers for the sake of drinking a couple of beers on a nice summer night. But due to price, those folks are probably just willing to not buy beers, leaving those who are both hoping and willing to get drunk to buy the beer.
I sort of wish there was a family section in the ballpark where beer was prohibited, because almost every time I’ve been to a game, there are two or three really drunk, stupid, obscene and vocal guys sitting in my immediate area. Now that I have kids, I would not be willing to expose them to that.
I think the lower the price gets, it is true that the “accidentally get drunk crowd” with increase, and that is not a good thing for the overall experience.
So, in sum, the high price might be just about right both for the club’s profits and for fans wanting less of the above described behaviours.
Pope Vanderbilt - January 23, 2012
Agreed with all that, especially with an alcohol-free zone. The only problem I could foresee with that is people who repurchase tickets not being aware of the issue.
-C
cthabeerman - January 23, 2012
Last I went, it wasn't hard to bring in a flask or pint
Bourbon and coke works just fine for me.
Mr. Sanchez - January 23, 2012
I think...
There is an optimal demand the ballpark is targeting. If demand is too high, the number of drunks will increase and ruin the experience for others. Also, there is the very real possibility of added maintenance and clean up. If demand is too low, they will make no money.
tcstew - January 23, 2012
In terms of beer only, and not everything else
you have to take in to account risk. For everything else, I’d agree that reducing price and increasing volume sold works best. But for beer, do you really want a bunch of people 6-8+ beers in around the park? From heckling, to running on to the field, to other idiotic stuff a drunk can do around the park, I’d think making beer too expensive to get intoxicated is a good idea.
Mr. Sanchez - January 23, 2012
If this was a concern, why wouldn’t they curtail the tailgating in the parking lot prior to the games? Go to the Blue Lot on a Sunday afternoon game. Half the adults have a beer in their hands.
Fatvirus - January 23, 2012
I suppose the fact that the alcohol wasn’t purchased from the club would have something to do with this, but it still seems odd that the organization basically states “Get pissed as much as you want in the parking lot, but no beer will be sold after the 7th inning”
Fatvirus - January 23, 2012
In the parking lot, where they can bring what they want...
is a little more difficult and costly to control.
Mr. Sanchez - January 23, 2012
In a world in which people can be charged $8 for something they can buy for < $0.75 in a store, you don’t want to seem completely and utterly greedy.
Shut off beer in tailgating, and you’re going to compound the money issue by looking that much more money-hungry in the beer line…and you’re going to lose lots of ticket sales to boot.
-C
cthabeerman - January 23, 2012
I want to find the guy who drinks beer and doesn’t bat an eye at an $8 beer. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard guys at the game say something along the lines of “$7.50 for one beer? Is that a joke?”
I agree with the point that more people will obviously drink inside the stadium if the prices were to be lowered. And they don’t want half the stadium shit-faced (see: $.10 beer night in Cleveland). But the team has to be losing money on those fans that are “regulars” or season ticket holders. I go to 15 or so games a year and almost never buy anything at the stadium. Why would I? It’s 1/8 the price or more outside the park.
So, yeah.. I think it’s a pretty good idea to say to the season ticket holders “Thank you for purchasing tickets to every home game; here’s a voucher for food that won’t leave your ass so sore afterwards”
Fatvirus - January 23, 2012
This is all an aside...
TBH, I dunno if I truly bat an eye anymore or not.
Between going to bars that offer brews that are fairly-priced at $8 to going to who knows how many concerts in which the price is always that high, I’m just accustomed to it. I do try to budget those events (since I’m spending $20-50 at a minimum on tickets anyway).
It is a joke, but it’s one I’ve heard so often that I’m aware of the tuition costs of drinking at those events. I think baseball games have reached that same level of acceptance, for the most part. Unless you’re only at the park once every few years, you’re pretty well aware that a beer is going to cost far more than it should, and you adjust accordingly. It hurts, but I don’t know that someone that pays $6 for a bud lite (why do people drink this beer, anyway??) is not going to drink an $8 bud lite.
I really do like what they’re doing here, but I can see their reasons for not dropping the price of a beer. I’m also a bit spoiled because I usually go to Coors Field, and they do have a special bar that carries premium brews for about a buck more than the swill. And, tbh, most parks consider something like Blue Moon as a premium, but the bar I’m talking about has much, much better brews at the same price as Blue Moon. For pre-gaming, I skip the tailgate and hit my favorite tap house, which has 80+ beers on-tap…less than a block away from the stadium.
-C
cthabeerman - January 23, 2012
Agreed totally.
Though not scientific in nature whatsoever, I have been to many large (8-10K+) live music venues in which the price of a beer is dictated by the show. In most cases, the drunken hostility ratio of responsible people to drunken people can be drawn linearly from the price of a drink.
Some may think it’s more correlated to the bands playing, but that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve seen wastoids abound at much milder shows because the price of beer was $5 instead of $8.50. If you give people an economic reason to drink more, they will drink more.
Another way to put it: Some people actually do budget this stuff ahead of time. If I know I can spend $40 on beer at a show beforehand, I’d actually much rather pay $8.50 and drink four beers than pay $5 and drink ~7 (let’s say I found a couple more bucks to pay for the last couple tips…or just didn’t tip the last couple times). Once I’ve had ~7 beers, pulling out a credit card or finding an ATM to get another $20-40 is incredibly easy to do.
-C
cthabeerman - January 23, 2012
I honestly can’t believe that people still pay $7.50 for a 20 oz beer.
It’s become a bit of a ritual for me to get a six pack of beer and drink a few of them while tailgating. Not only does this save me an insane amount of money, it gives me the 3 hour game and hour MARTA ride to sober up. However, if the price dropped to, say.. $3 or $4 a beer, I could reasonably see myself getting one at the beginning of the game. It’d be a few bucks more than the Braves are getting from me right now.
Speaking to the entire article, I’m thinking that the Braves are doing this because the season ticket holders know to bring in food as opposed to buying the overpriced meals inside the park. Only a fool would pay $4 for a pack of peanuts that costs $2 at Publix. Or $3 for a coke that’s .35 cents if you buy a 12 pack.
Fatvirus - January 23, 2012
Just imagine..
if they let you bring in a six pack to the game. Holy cow, the place would be a zoo.
But I agree with cthabeerman, It is just hard to patronize an establishment that charges $7 for something you can get down the street for less than a $$. But as we’ve established, they might be aiming to regulate consumption, but I don’t know…
Wrigley has a good model in terms of fan experience. The outfield bleachers are essentially a frat party for people wanting that experience, and the rest of the park is for family, adults, etc who want to watch the game in peace. Not sure how to achieve without assigned seats, but I’d love that kind of arrangement.
Pope Vanderbilt - January 23, 2012
damn i wish I can get season tickets, too bad im starting college next year
suicide bunting is a sin - January 23, 2012
Any word of this offer being extended to Flex Plan ticket holders?
Fatvirus - January 23, 2012
Things To Consider.....
First let me start by saying I think I do think $7.50 for a beer is insane. However there are other factors to consider. First, it’s all about supply and demand just like anything else. Second like with most major venues, concessions are outsourced to a third party. In the case of the Braves its Aramark, so they need their cut also. Thats why you see more affordable prices at minor league ball parks. They are usually in house. I would like to see daily beer specials though every night at turner field. I think that would appease everyone.
dougefreshtb87 - January 23, 2012
Nashville Predators..well actually its Bridgestone Arena in Nashville charges $9.50 for a 16oz beer.
and i’m not talking about the imports or etc.. good ol bud light, coors light, and miller lite all $9.50.. HOWEVER.. everything else is actually underpriced for a sporting venue..a hot dog was $2.50 which was a pretty big dog ..a chicken fingers snak plate is like $6 regular drinks are usually around $2-5 with the large having free refills i believe.. I think me and my girlfriend both ate at the game for under $20..which if u ask me isn’t that bad..would i do it every time? no..but once in a while a good hotdog smothered in mustard is mighty tastey..especially at a sporting event.
SidFreeman - January 23, 2012
I honestly think the high price at the preds games is to curb the public drunkeness &..
to ease the pain on the wallet of other items that are sold..there are about 25 bars within half a down the strip that almost everyone spills out into after the game to listen to a few tunes and drink a few..
SidFreeman - January 23, 2012
*half a mile down the strip..
SidFreeman - January 23, 2012
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