Concessions 2006

[KarenH]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

How were they? How much did they charge?

At AZ, there were no concessions whatsoever and a single vending machine that was nearly sold out on everything by Friday lunchtime.

At SoCal, they charged like $5.50 for nachos and $8 for a cheeseburger.

I want to say I have a beef about food at the SoCal venue, but I'm told there wasn't any beef at SoCal, so I won't say it.

I like the AZ arrangement where you can pre-order lunches, so you know in advance what you're getting for your money. I think both the caterer and the consumers benefit. It has to be easier to make a profit when the caterer knows in advance what the customers want.

Food for SoCal was very confusing to me. First, there was a mistaken announcement to our team that there was no food available at The Forum, and we had to bring sack lunches. Well, we thought we got that misconception straightened out. But then when I got there, I was told there were no hamburgers on the menu. The next day, I read the menu more closely and noticed hamburgers WERE on the menu. But then someone told me that the menu on the wall was NOT the real menu; I had to read the printed menus posted on the cash registers, and there were no hamburgers on those menus. I didn't check out this last report, so I can't personally verify that it's true. If true, it amounts to making the mistaken announcement to our team valid: no food at The Forum!

Now, I believe that the concessions are part of the profitability of the venue, and that it is a good idea to patronize them whenever feasible. But what the concessionaire at the Forum seems not to realize is that thousands of teenagers and adults need meals (hamburgers and pizza) not snacks (hot dogs and nachos) when they're at the venue all day for three days in a row. So this year, for the first time ever, I decided not to patronize the concession at the SoCal regional, because I'm tired of compromising my health and well-being for the sake of someone else's profits.

I also foresee a time when venues will not be able to ban outside food and sell only junk food. This is because the FDA, public schools, and other entities are cracking down on Americans' bad eating habits. With all the news about Americans being overweight, one would think that these places will soon realize they have got to improve their menus.