Tyler Schroeder
Living near the big city of Milwaukee, which is home to the Milwaukee Brewers, is a must see game for everyone in Wisconsin at least once in their life. People come from all over Wisconsin and neighboring states to come see the Brewers perform live. Although for anyone that has been to the brewers game knows that the food prices can be very expensive; especially if you are feeding a family or a group of people.
Brewer games are monopolies. People are here to watch their team play and there is no where else to get food unless you eat before, and the only liquid you are allowed to carry in is clear, water bottles where the seal has not been broke yet. In doing so the Brewers can raise their food and drink prices and people are still going to buy them because they want to have a good time and get hungry or thirsty at games. A survey found that the Brewers are above the MLB average day at the ballpark. The average is 77.92 dollars whereas the Brewers are at 80 dollars. The cost for a Summer Shandy beer at the ballpark is 9.25 dollars per can. This is a crazy amount for any kind of beer considering you can go to the store and get a six pack for less then that. Although people are still going to buy this because you are not allowed to carry in beer. Not being able to carry in beer allows the Brewers to raise their prices of beer because people who want beer will still pay the money because otherwise they will not be able to get it anywhere else during the game.
Many people have resorted to other ways of eating such as tailgating, carrying in small snacks and bottled water, or going out to eat at a local restaurant before hand. This may be hindering and decrease the revenue that the Brewers are bringing in from their concessions. These high prices really make it hard for families that have a lower income to enjoy a game with there family. Families with lower and even middle iconome that attend games with their family can not afford to spend the 9.25 for a beer, or 9 dollars for some dippin dots for their children.
The Atlantic Falcons, a NFL team is a good example of a corporation that has lowered their food prices. They lowered their food prices and their total revenue increased because of the lower prices. They added unique menus such as two dollar hot dogs, bottomless soft drinks, and five dollar cheeseburgers. Ken Belson states “Despite a 50 percent decrease in prices for food and nonalcoholic drinks compared to prices in the Georgia Dome, the amount spent per fan increased by 16 percent.” People are already paying a lot of money for just the tickets alone, so many people do not want to buy a lot of food or drinks because they will be spending a lot of money for four hours of entertainment. This also allowed people that had a little less money to be able to buy their kids a hot dog or two and have something to drink during the game. Therefore since the prices went down the quantity of food and drinks demanded per person increased and revue increased.
If the Brewers took the line that the Falcons took they would also see an increase in revenue. Brewers tickets average at about 50 dollars which is above the average MLB ticket price of 43 dollars. Lowering the prices of food would allow people to buy more food and drinks for them and their families and possibly allow them to come to more games because it it not as expensive to attend a game anymore. In big games such as when the Brewers battle the cubs, if they have lower food prices they will see a increase in revenue, because of the amount of people at the game and the quantity demanded for the lower priced food and drinks. Right now with the high food and drink prices the quantity demanded is lower for some people. Although with lower food and drink prices the quantity demanded will increase because people will be able to afford more food and drinks allowing them to buy more food and drinks.
Very interesting topic, it's kind of weird to see that when a team decreases there prices, that there is an increase in revenue. This show's that the pricing on stadium food is very elastic because a decrease in prices, drastically changed the amount of people that were buying an abundance of food. This begs the question, of why doesn't everyone just lower their prices if it increases revenue. It will be interesting to see what the Brewers choose to do with their menu items in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic. I do have to agree that the Brewers games are a monopoly. As well as Brewer games, Packers and Bucks food is very expensive. I like what the Falcons are doing because that helps out a lot. I usually get food before going into the stadium because it is cheaper. If the Wisconsin based team lowered their prices on food then it would probably increase their profits like the Falcons.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, it doesn't surprise me that people would gain more money decreasing their prices because so many people complain on how expensive stadium food is so expensive. So when fans see the prices went down they automatically think since it's cheaper I can get more food because they've spent more on the same products for years. Plus if food is less expensive most likely the beer will be cheaper and people will buy even more beer than they already do. I thought this was an interesting topic and very relevant since the baseball season for the Brewers and they are off to a good start and fans loving a winning team which more people will attend. It's funny how just two people the Brewers signed has brought in more revenue and more fans into the stands.
ReplyDeleteWith less and less of new generations being interested in baseball and not wanting to spend the money to go out of their way to go sit through a game I think the price decrease of food would really help them keep a consistent fan base that isnt paying to much to go sit through a game when they could just do it at home. Them lowering prices is something that needs to happen for their attendance to stay high. Because people dont want to spend a thousand dollars on food just going to a few brewers games. I agree that lowering food prices would really help them out.
ReplyDeleteThough the food prices seem outrageous to most, the food at Brewer games are inelastic. This means that there is no alternatives, so a change in price will not affect a change in business. Also, food is a temporary good, so it is not surprising to buy two beverages or more than one food item. However, the Falcons have proved that revenue has increased as prices of the food has decreased.
ReplyDeleteAlthough there is a high probability that revenue would increase if prices were lowered because there would be more demand (law of demand), it could also go the other way. According to the law of supply, suppliers will want to supply more when the prices are higher, and therefore the potential variety of food at the games could decrease with a decrease in prices. Even with a decrease in prices, I still believe there would be lots of tailgating as that is purely a part of the baseball experience for many families. Either way, there is definitely a monopoly over food in the stadium, as anything substantial must be purchased in-house.
ReplyDeleteEven though Brewer games are a monopoly, and therefore can have extremely high prices, surely the stadium claims their food is “higher-quality” or even “Wisconsin-made” to intrigue customers. Obviously, many people see through this, but if this is the case, it’s a slight distraction from how high the prices are. I’m curious to see how much revenue the Brewers would gain if they lowered their prices a small amount, as more people would be willing to buy.
ReplyDeleteYou could say that this is a monopoly or just a business. The cost of food is apart of the experience - baseball is a prolonged sport that carries on for extensive amount of time. There’s a few loopholes to beat the system. Bring your own food adds a substitute good to buy, also a traditional tailgate where grilling food is not prohibited, or even simpler watch at home.
ReplyDeleteI've been to a couple Brewers games and I definitely realized how expensive their food is. I understand why they put it so high since a lot of people still buy it given that you don't really have any other place to get food besides concessions. However I do think they should lower prices a little to make it more affordable and to be honest they'd probably wind up making more money from lowering the prices since more people would be buying.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very important issue to discuss, especially because since the overall cost of attending the Brewers games are so expensive it discourages many from even attending a game. If the price stays too high the total attendance of Brewer games will most likely decline until the Brewers change their prices.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an interesting topic and very relevant since the baseball season for the Brewers and they are off to a good start and fans loving a winning team which more people will attend. It doesn't surprise me that people would gain more money decreasing their prices because so many people complain on how expensive stadium food is leading them to not buy it and just eat after. So when fans see the prices went down they automatically think since it's cheaper and will be okay with buying more of it which will add up to the same old price. Plus if food is less expensive most likely the beer will be cheaper and people will buy even more beer than they already do.
ReplyDeleteI only went to a Brewers game once so far and I was so surprised on how much food was. For some places, food and beverages are a little higher than what they should be price wise, but when I went to the stadium, I didn’t purchase anything because prices were too high. I had to wait until after the game to eat because I thought it was just a waste of money to buy a small amount of food for a large price. They should consider lowering their costs like the Atlantic Falcons because due to these low prices, people were willing to buy more of what they were selling rather than not even buying at all.
ReplyDeleteIt’s always very annoying when you go into a game and see those high priced food items, especially when you are dying for the highest priced item. It makes sense though for the Falcons to lower their prices. When you make something less expensive people always tend to consider it more, and 2x the amount of people are going to be going out and buying something from the concessions stand then of course you are going to make more profit. And changing the price of food items goes beyond making a profit. If food items will cost less it will possibly raise customer satisfaction and happiness, and if this is going to increase then you can get more fans in. So in the end, more fans=more money.
ReplyDeleteIt is annoying that venues such as theme parks and baseball stadiums charge so much more money for their food than normal. I could go to the grocery store and get a full pack of water for the same price of a single water bottle at a Brewer's game. This is good for the stadium as it will bring in revenue, but also could be bad considering less and less people will want to buy food at the games.
ReplyDeleteI find this article very compelling and as a consumer and customer it is extremely frustrated how now a days theme parks and sporting events are simply so hard to afford especially for highschool kids. The problem is simply that the venues can clearly make so much more money and it’s truly just hard for them to cut prices when they would then have that negative opportunity cost.
ReplyDeleteIt is frustrating when theme parks and other events have high prices for their food because there is no where else to get food. But it does make sense to have higher prices since their only option is to get food there. There is a trade off between how much people will buy also. I think it would be best to test out how sales would be with decreased prices and chose whichever one is better.
ReplyDeleteSports events and theme parks are meant to be fun activities for friends and families. They should not be outrageously overpriced due to the fact that people can't get food or drinks anywhere else while they attend. I have experienced this same thing at Six Flags where they charge almost $10 for a bottle of water when I can buy a 30 pack for less than $4 at the grocery store. It's good to see that the Falcons lowered their costs and made much more money. It makes sense that if you cut prices in half it will attract many more consumers. Hopefully other sporting arenas will take that into consideration and do the same.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with you. I personally think that the outrages prices on food and beverages at sporting events are outrageous. Fans are already paying very high prices in order to get into the games in the first place, but now they have to face these high prices just to eat and drink. I personally feel bad for those who are already crunching their budget to just attend a game. These prices really show you that the sporting franchises are just in it for the money.
DeleteThe increase in food prices at the game was a terrible idea. The food itself is already overpriced, so they want it up more? A person wouldn't buy food at that price anywhere else, so why does it seem alright for a sporting event. The mediocre stadium food combined with higher prices will end up losing revenue, because people won't buy something so expensive.
ReplyDeleteI was recently afforded the opportunity to take a tour of the Brewers kitchen facilities. Fun fact, the Milwaukee Brewers sell more beer per attendee than any other baseball park in the country! The logistics of catering that much food is absolutely incredible, and when you think about how much work goes in to calculating the amount of food they need, the price isn't really that unreasonable as some people will claim.
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