Atlanta Falcons dropped prices by 50% - made more money

[GordonBlue]

thought it was really interesting that by making the game day experience more enjoyable by actually having affordable concessions, the team made even more profit.

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/2...um-concessions

hope other teams go this far now that it's been proven to work.

neat note at the end of the article -"Merchandise sales were also up 88 percent"

[transplant99]

I remember when they rolled this out last year and thinking it was an interesting experiment.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Imagine that. Don't gouge the crap out of people and they are more likely to spend.

[ken0042]

I've been saying this all year. At the Dome, I think a safe estimate is that it costs them $2 to pour a beer. If they charged $8 for it, I'd probably have 3 per game. Net profit of $18. Now that it's $10.25 I might have one. Net profit of $8; or zero if I don't have one.

[rubecube]

Demand-side economics 101.

[surferguy]

I know if food was cheaper at the dome, I'd eat there every game I attend, right now I never get a meal there

[mrkajz44]

An important point to note:

The new stadium also had 65 percent more points of sale and 1,264 more beer taps than the Georgia Dome did as well as self-serve soda machines.

So while prices were lower, they definitely increased potential volume.

However, I found this interesting too:

Because fans weren't deterred by the concession prices, Cannon said that, on average, 6,000 more fans walked through the gates two hours before the game, which not only meant more time to sell food and drink, but also helped to ease wait times at the games to the goal of no more than five minutes.

I think this is a major factor that is never considered. I know prices at the Dome are crazy, so I usually just show up immediately before the game - 20 minutes early at the most. Often I'll go out to eat and grab a drink somewhere else before. If the prices as the Dome were reasonable, I would be much more inclined to just go there directly - it sure would beat being worried about how much time you have at another restaurant before you need to leave and get to the game in time.

[GreenLantern2814]

This story pleases me.

[rohara66]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

I think this is a major factor that is never considered. I know prices at the Dome are crazy, so I usually just show up immediately before the game - 20 minutes early at the most. Often I'll go out to eat and grab a drink somewhere else before. If the prices as the Dome were reasonable, I would be much more inclined to just go there directly - it sure would beat being worried about how much time you have at another restaurant before you need to leave and get to the game in time.

I think the Flames are starting to understand this.... ie: their happy hour prices before a game.

[GordonBlue]

Originally Posted by surferguy

I know if food was cheaper at the dome, I'd eat there every game I attend, right now I never get a meal there

and for Atlanta people were going earlier and merch sales were up 88% .
more time at the stadium/arena (especially if they're happy) - more spending.
and since so many people were going earlier, closer to game time the waits were much shorter to get into the stadium.

I know some teams have tried this on a much smaller scale with "happy hour". with the Atlanta situation, I hope more teams fully embrace the idea.
imagine going to a hockey game and being able to get a refillable pop and pizza for $5? customer satisfaction through the roof, for me. imagine being able to afford to take your family to a game.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Demand-side economics 101.

It still amazes me how many business fail to grasp this principle.

[Red Slinger]

I'm also curious if they had an increase in security related issues. More beer usually equals more problems.

[Erick Estrada]

Taxpayers did pay for $700 million of the new stadium so I suppose they deserve a break on concessions.

[Table 5]

I maybe buy one item per game whenever I go. As of now, you get a mediocre product and its ridiculously priced...no thanks. Although I kind of feel like that about the whole product, not necessarily just the concessions.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

It still amazes me how many business fail to grasp this principle.

It's obviously not universal and can't be applied to things with limited supply, but I agree. I'm totally blown away by how many businesses leave money on the table by trying to max out their mark-ups instead of trying to max out their consumer base.

[MacDaddy77]

Unless its a weekend game I will only buy the food vouchers when I take the kids. If I'm wiht adults I usually just get a coke on weekday games.

Weekend games I'l usually go to the Still or somewhere for dinner and drinks and then get 1 beer a period. If they didn't charge so much say $6.50/draft I'd go back to drinking on Friday nights like I was 18 again

[troutman]

Ken King please read.

[tvp2003]

Flames have introduced the "Happy Hour" concept with reduced prices on food and drink (i.e. between 5:30 and 6:30 for a 7:00 game) and it appears the uptake has been pretty good. Unfortunately, I'm not sure they would have the capacity to meet any increase in demand during the actual game (and especially intermissions)...

[killer_carlson]

If the prices were lower, I"d be wondering how long until a Nachogedden, where they run out of nacho cheese, causing widespread panic.

Note: I'm sure I'd be OK, as I suspect there is still litres of the stuff still clogging my arteries.

[Shazam]

I can't even comprehend those prices. It's like I expect a zero after each single digit.