Low food prices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons, are encouraging fans to arrive at the venue earlier and buy more.
More than 6,000 additional NFL American football fans per game entered the stadium earlier than they did in 2016, and in general, the venue sold as much food by the end of the first quarter of Falcons games as it did in full games in 2016, Bloomberg reports.
While the team reportedly made less profit for selling $2 (£1.40/€1.61) hot dogs and soft drinks, $3 nachos and $5 beer, fans gave the Falcons the highest satisfaction rating in the NFL for food and beverages, up from No.18 in 2016.
Fans bought 53 per cent more food, and spent 16 per cent more on concessions, but didn’t quite offset the price drops.
“Sure, we could shake out a few more dollars of margin under the old model, but we believe that the direction we’ve taken, given all the other positive benefits, is the bigger revenue play, period,” said Steve Cannon, chief executive officer of AMB Group, the company through which Arthur Blank owns the Falcons, according to Bloomberg.
Hot dogs at Falcons home games cost less than half the league average $5.19, according to the 2016 Team Marketing Report. The league’s average price for a beer was $7.38, with the San Francisco 49ers charging over $10.
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium pricing strategy is made possible through its partnership with Levy Restaurants.
Cannon said “dozens” of team owners and venues have called asking for more details on the pricing strategy.
With plans to improve efficiency and expand the menu, Cannon said he believes that eventually, the Falcons’ food and beverage profit will eclipse its 2016 numbers.
“This is just a first report card,” Cannon said. “And it says that we changed the dynamic inside of an industry that was fairly set in its ways, it’s having an amazing impact on our fans’ satisfaction, and, oh by the way, spending per person did go up. The system-wide impacts are great.”
Image: Atlanta Falcons
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