A Night At The Ballpark

[Roll Tide]

So I was among the 30,000 or so that was at the stadium last night. I got 4 terrace box seats (behind the Os dugout) and a parking pass from work. The seats are pretty good except you can’t see the balls hit in the air that aren’t on a line. 
 

I wondered how the Orioles justify $10 or $4 ticket promotions that I’ve recently seen advertised. 
 

Things I noticed right off…..Other than adding 1 order taker per 2 or 3 sections in the lower box area they eliminated all of the roving food/drink vendors. 
 

The result ….. through the first 5-6 innings the concessions stands all had lines a mile long. We came from the seats 3 or 4 times thinking the lines would have died down. On the 6th trip I entered a booth that was set up like a convenience store. They only sold beverages and peanuts/chips. 
 

We purchased 3 domestic light beers that were 20 ounces or so. The cost was $48. Honestly couldn’t believe it. Around the last call period my brother in law came back with 2 12 ounce domestics, a soda in a souvenir cup that was nothing special, and a very small cup of generic French fries that barely stuck out over the edge of the small coffee (at Dunkin)  size. The cost was in the $35 range. 

So the current plan is to sucker people in with cheap tickets and screw the customer on concessions. And operate with a reduced staff so that the service is piss poor.
 

I spoke to a woman that was in the convenience store line to buy a beverage that had waited an hour in the Jimmy’s line. She had what was definitely cold ….a 1/2 Sausage sandwich and a crab cake 1/2 sub that had 2 crab cakes about the size of jumbo gum balls that you see in the malls. I asked her what she paid and she replied “too much”. 

We stayed to watch the Orioles win which was nice. 
 

But, moving forward I won’t be going back to the stadium. We could’ve went to a nice pub ate good hot food and enjoyed a few libations without feeling like we had just gotten goosed. 
 

I know, I know …..we could bring our own food. Nope not doing it to go to a ball game.

 

Also, we parked in the stadium lot and noticeably absent were the food vendors outside the entrance. I used to buy Jeppi peanuts from the stand next to the cross walk. And did so to get a decent size bag that was unsalted. They only sell salted and now Cajun inside. 
 

If I were writing a review on Yelp it would be a 1 star experience. The frugality of the Angelos family is glaringly obvious except for the stadium upgrades that the tax payers are paying for! The new outfield wall is interesting and will certainly lower the game scores. I’m not crazy about the 90 degree angle that was necessary to keep the bullpen areas the same. It just looked odd to me.

 

Thankfully, the Orioles won and the Yankee fan presence wasn’t  the majority. Watching the team I expect it to be a long season (100+ loses)and a last place finish. The offense stinks and doesn’t have any flow. Cederic has let the 30 home runs go to his head and a gaggle of players hitting under .200 ( yes, I know it’s early). The bullpen has been impressive so far but the wear and tear from having 1 starter (now that Means is on the shelf) will catch up to them. 

 

 

 

[Ohfan67]

I haven't gotten to go to Camden Yards a ton in the past decade...most of my ML games have been in Houston and other cities (finally going to Coors Field in a few weeks). The prices you report are very, very common in my experience. I think food and beer prices at Camden Yards have actually been a bit below the national baseball stadium average for a while (definitely lower than the prices in Houston IMO). It's incredibly expensive to take a family of four to a game and eat the "fun" food and drink the better beer (even "cheap" beer is not cheap in stadiums). You could easily spend $75 per person at Minute Maid park, for example (drinks, fun food, snacks for teenagers, etc.). We all gripe a ton about the Angelos', but I think they kept ticket and concession prices suppressed relative to many other ML venues for a long time. Anyway, I am sorry you did not have a better experience, but at least price wise I don't think what you're reporting is very different than most ML stadiums these days. It sounds like you got free tickets and parking, so I'm incredibly envious! Hope you have a better experience next time. 

[OriolesMagic83]

Fans are finally able to bring in outside food again, right?  I assume it has to be in a clear bag.

When I went to an O's game a couple of years ago, a burger, fries and coke was about $20.  Sounds like that might be closer to $30 now. 

[Sports Guy]

The lack of vendors in the stands is astounding to me.  I don’t know if it’s a COVID thing or them being cheap or what but it’s awful.

If you take your young kids, not only is food not being brought out but you are now taking them out of the seats to go stand in long lines.

Its enough of a PITA for adults to wait in long lines but add little kids to it and it becomes a larger problem.  
 

Add in not taking cash and it’s a freaking nightmare.  For games when no one is there, the lines won’t be as bad but other games, it’s a nightmare.  Just another poor idea from this organization.

[OriolesMagic83]

20 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

The lack of vendors in the stands is astounding to me.  I don’t know if it’s a COVID thing or then being cheap or what but it’s awful.

If you take your young kids, not only is food not being brought out but you are now taking them out of the seats to go stand in long lines.

Its enough of a PITA for adults to wait in long lines but add little kids to it and it becomes a larger problem.  
 

Add in not taking cash and it’s a freaking nightmare.  For games when no one is there, the lines won’t be as bad but other games, it’s a nightmare.  Just another poor idea from this organization.

That's ridiculous, what do they pay the vendors in the stands?  Minimum wage + tips?  The cheapness of this franchise is always reaching new lows.

[kaj21206]

I don't know why people are surprised that Camden Yards is cashless.  I haven't been to a profession stadium since Covid that accepted cash.  Are there any?

[Sports Guy]

On OD, we saw 2 lemonade vendors around the 7th inning.  That was it.

[Sports Guy]

7 minutes ago, kaj21206 said:

I don't know why people are surprised that Camden Yards is cashless.  I haven't been to a profession stadium since Covid that accepted cash.  Are there any?

Who knows..but it’s stupid for all of them, especially since they get charged by the CC company for swipes..probably why they increased food prices.  So, they come up with the f’ing stupid idea that COVID lives on cash but not a card (apparently) but then they push the additional cost to the customer.  
 

[seak05]

I'm confused at people that are annoyed it's cashless. Using cards/phone is significantly faster. Anyways as to the vendors in the stands, generally those jobs are commission based, and with such low attendance last year it probably wasn't financially worth it for most games for the workers. 

[O-The-Memories]

In section 336 last night we had a couple beer vendors come by, but none of us drink, so it would have been nice to have other options. Myself and my three friends had a blast though, although I understand that it would have been different if we brought our kids along. The prices can be mitigated by bringing your own food, or eating outside the ballpark, but I do know the lines were too long. Jimmy's moved pretty quick, and their crab cake egg rolls are good (though you're paying a premium at the stadium). I think that people don't really know that the cost of Maryland lump crab meat is in many circumstances. Very few places actually use Maryland harvested and picked crabmeat because the cost is just so high. 22 bucks for those really small crabcakes is steep, but not abnormally so. The profit margins on french fries, ice cream, and soda is a lot higher actually. 

Was awesome to be in an environment resembling the good old days when the fans were into the game and the stadium was mostly full. We saw a 12 inning walk-off literally, and the game was tension packed and we were hanging on every pitch. The weather was good and we actually won against the Yankees with a payroll that's like 1/7th of theirs. I had a great time although I understand the frustrations I am reading about. It was live baseball around friends in a good environment, can't ask for much more. 

[MGH5208]

29 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

Who knows..but it’s stupid for all of them, especially since they get charged by the CC company for swipes..probably why they increased food prices.  So, they come up with the f’ing stupid idea that COVID lives on cash but not a card (apparently) but then they push the additional cost to the customer.  
 

A friend of mine only had cash on opening Day.  He used the reverse ATM that gives you a card you can then use at the stands, etc.   Not sure if there was any fee associated with it but I'll ask him.   And i think there's only one in the entire stadium.   Not ideal and another PITA task for the customers/fans, but if you really want a Boogs BBQ or beer and only have cash....

[Roll Tide]

45 minutes ago, O-The-Memories said:

In section 336 last night we had a couple beer vendors come by, but none of us drink, so it would have been nice to have other options. Myself and my three friends had a blast though, although I understand that it would have been different if we brought our kids along. The prices can be mitigated by bringing your own food, or eating outside the ballpark, but I do know the lines were too long. Jimmy's moved pretty quick, and their crab cake egg rolls are good (though you're paying a premium at the stadium). I think that people don't really know that the cost of Maryland lump crab meat is in many circumstances. Very few places actually use Maryland harvested and picked crabmeat because the cost is just so high. 22 bucks for those really small crabcakes is steep, but not abnormally so. The profit margins on french fries, ice cream, and soda is a lot higher actually. 

Was awesome to be in an environment resembling the good old days when the fans were into the game and the stadium was mostly full. We saw a 12 inning walk-off literally, and the game was tension packed and we were hanging on every pitch. The weather was good and we actually won against the Yankees with a payroll that's like 1/7th of theirs. I had a great time although I understand the frustrations I am reading about. It was live baseball around friends in a good environment, can't ask for much more. 

I’m from the good old days….not actually sure what year range you are calling the good old days. But, fans of the Orioles aren’t a shadow of the fans of old!  Needing to be told when to Cheer says it all. It was never like that in the 70s and 80s. Making a fool of yourself by wearing ridiculous clothes/hats etc, flexing, dancing, etc to get up on the screen in the outfield, leaving a game tied 1-1 before it’s over ….and on a Friday night. I rest my case!

[bobmc]

28 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

I’m from the good old days….not actually sure what year range you are calling the good old days. But, fans of the Orioles aren’t a shadow of the fans of old!  Needing to be told when to Cheer says it all. It was never like that in the 70s and 80s. Making a fool of yourself by wearing ridiculous clothes/hats etc, flexing, dancing, etc to get up on the screen in the outfield, leaving a game tied 1-1 before it’s over ….and on a Friday night. I rest my case!

Whoa - so there are unwritten rules of fandom?   Is the oppo of fandom - dumbfan?

[Roll Tide]

1 hour ago, bobmc said:

Whoa - so there are unwritten rules of fandom?   Is the oppo of fandom - dumbfan?

No …but I’ve seen both

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, Roll Tide said:

I’m from the good old days….not actually sure what year range you are calling the good old days. But, fans of the Orioles aren’t a shadow of the fans of old!  Needing to be told when to Cheer says it all. It was never like that in the 70s and 80s. Making a fool of yourself by wearing ridiculous clothes/hats etc, flexing, dancing, etc to get up on the screen in the outfield, leaving a game tied 1-1 before it’s over ….and on a Friday night. I rest my case!

Or watching the fans do the wave in the middle of a rally during the eighth inning last night.