Catering in stadiums - Target Field USA vs the Amex. Are you reading this PB ?

[Marshy]

All this and the Albion is voted as the best match day experience in the EFL

Just imagine what other fans put up with on a regular basis...

Obviously there is always room for improvement on these things.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I went to an Oakland 'A's baseball game many moons back. It was just off the back of a baseball strike. Not only were players there at the entrance to shake your hand to thank you for coming, you were also issued with a free baseball bat

 

[StonehamPark]

U.S sports in general is leagues above UK sports.
That's from junior, grass-roots, college and up to pro level.

So many facilities for people of all ages and abilities. Loads of choice, always an opportunity to take part in most sports.
Luckily their Gov put a lot of money into sports in their country.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

IMHO the amount of wasted potential catering space outside the stadium is criminal. Maybe there's some crappy bye-law that needs overturning, or maybe some self-imposed rule that forces the club not to dilute the profits of their generic catering supplier, but I don't see any reason whatsoever why the outside space couldn't be crammed with independent food and drink vendors, same as any self-respecting festival is, or like they've got on the pier. We even had that at Withdean FFS. Charge vendors a licence fee, renewable per season. Let them sell a variety of quality food and drink that punters actually want to buy, and in such a way that they manage the queues far better than the generic caterers appear capable of doing. Decent profits to be made for both parties, I'd have thought, from the thousands of fans just aimlessly wandering around the stadium before a match. Certainly there's a couple of burger vendors by Falmer station appear to be doing a very decent trade. We need more of those, with the Albion taking a slice of the action in exchange for a prime selling spot. Everybody wins. Or is that too simple?

 

[Official Old Man]

I went to an NBA basketball game (Memphis v New York) and was impressed with all the food outlets. What didn't impress me was that, at 60 years of age and showing it, they refused me a beer because I had no ID!!!

 

[Gazwag]

I went to an NBA basketball game (Memphis v New York) and was impressed with all the food outlets. What didn't impress me was that, at 60 years of age and showing it, they refused me a beer because I had no ID!!!

We had to provide ID at the Yankee stadium earlier in the year, fortunately we carry our passports around as they are needed quite often when making credit card purchases, although many places are now joining the 21st century and offering chip and pin.

 

[Easy 10]

IMHO the amount of wasted potential catering space outside the stadium is criminal. Maybe there's some crappy bye-law that needs overturning, or maybe some self-imposed rule that forces the club not to dilute the profits of their generic catering supplier, but I don't see any reason whatsoever why the outside space couldn't be crammed with independent food and drink vendors, same as any self-respecting festival is, or like they've got on the pier. We even had that at Withdean FFS. Charge vendors a licence fee, renewable per season. Let them sell a variety of quality food and drink that punters actually want to buy, and in such a way that they manage the queues far better than the generic caterers appear capable of doing. Decent profits to be made for both parties, I'd have thought, from the thousands of fans just aimlessly wandering around the stadium before a match. Certainly there's a couple of burger vendors by Falmer station appear to be doing a very decent trade. We need more of those, with the Albion taking a slice of the action in exchange for a prime selling spot. Everybody wins. Or is that too simple?

Totally agree. In the remaining summer months of the season and then when spring arrives, it would be FANTASTIC to have some kind of tailgate party-esque thing going on outside around the Amex. Food outlets of all kinds, grills, beer tents. I'd happily turn up a couple of hours before kickoff to take something like that in. I certainly don't bother turning up too early with the crap thats on offer at the moment, or taking up the option of either drinking in Dicks, or in a sparse concrete bunker with queues that don't move. Lifes too short.

 

[Sussexscots]

I don't think it's just the Amex to be honest. .I've e-mailed Sussex cricket in the past to point out that T20 is the number of overs per side, not the number of minutes I expect to have to stand in a queue to get a beer.

The British sports going public at most grounds and events are faced with overpriced food and drink of doubtful quality.

And the "if you don't like it, you can stick it up your ar*e" approach to customer service .

I've been fortunate enough to watch pro sport in the USA, Canada and Australia. Which is why I now eat in the pub before the game, arrive 15 minutes before kick off and don't bother much with the catering except for a couple of beers after on a Saturday when everyone's scrambling for the train.

 

[Easy 10]

I don't think it's just the Amex to be honest. .I've e-mailed Sussex cricket in the past to point out that T20 is the number of overs per side, not the number of minutes I expect to have to stand in a queue to get a beer.

The British sports going public at most grounds and events are faced with overpriced food and drink of doubtful quality.

And the "if you don't like it, you can stick it up your ar*e" approach to customer service .

I've been fortunate enough to watch pro sport in the USA, Canada and Australia. Which is why I now eat in the pub before the game, arrive 15 minutes before kick off and don't bother much with the catering except for a couple of beers after on a Saturday when everyone's scrambling for the train.

Echos my views entirely. Having just experienced sport in the USA for the first time, I dunno how we've got it so wrong in this country. Its not just the Amex, there's nowhere I've been in football that offers anything even remotely close to what you can experience at a baseball stadium.

Barber has though. You'd think he'd have half a clue about bringing that over here.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Totally agree. In the remaining summer months of the season and then when spring arrives, it would be FANTASTIC to have some kind of tailgate party-esque thing going on outside around the Amex. Food outlets of all kinds, grills, beer tents. I'd happily turn up a couple of hours before kickoff to take something like that in. I certainly don't bother turning up too early with the crap thats on offer at the moment, or taking up the option of either drinking in Dicks, or in a sparse concrete bunker with queues that don't move. Lifes too short.

Yup. This,completely. Even with Albion goggles on, the catering is completely shit. Doubt that more than 10% of the people who want to buy stuff make it to the front of the queue, and then they're so pitifully grateful to make it to that point in the queue that they'll buy any old shit that happens to be on offer. Like it's Communist Russia or something. Anyone who's ever seen how catering CAN be made to work at a sporting event or a festival will realise just how rubbish the catering at the Amex it actually is. And being supposedly top marks in the division is no excuse for any kind of complacency at all. It's STILL rubbish by any normal non-football catering standards.

 

[nicko31]

We want the Amex to be the Amex not Frankie and Bennies

 

[Lyndhurst 14]

U.S sports in general is leagues above UK sports.
That's from junior, grass-roots, college and up to pro level.

So many facilities for people of all ages and abilities. Loads of choice, always an opportunity to take part in most sports.
Luckily their Gov put a lot of money into sports in their country.

Agreed. It amazes me the sports facilities that schools and colleges have. The capacity of some of the football stadia at colleges is incredible - Penn State, Ohio and Michigan are over 100,000. Their public sports facilities are also cheap, I can use any of the NYC Parks and Recreation gyms, swimming pools and tennis courts for $150 a year.

 

[papajaff]

All very commendable Easy but for a matchday experience, I want to watch the Albion and have a few pints. End of.

If I want to view an extensive food menu and indeed experience the food on offer, I go to a restaurant. I don't see the obsession with some people of stuffing their faces at a game of Football. The US is very different to us in that the game of choice on offer is largely secondary. I am baffled by the amount of people sitting in their seats not taking a blind bit of notice what is going on in front of them.

You must have noticed the sheer amount of people walking the concourses searching out what to shove down their necks rather than watch and support their alleged team play?

 

[papajaff]

Chatting with so many american sports fans over there, both at the game and in the bars, they were universally GOBSMACKED that at a football match, we are not even allowed to have a beer in sight of the pitch over here. It just did not compute.

Oh come on, can we not go 45 minutes without having a pint? The day I take advice from an 'American Sports Fan' is the day I start watching Basketfeckingball or the shyt Gridiron bollox. I do love Ice Hockey though.

 

[Justice]

Ever wondered why America has a large population of lard arses?

 

[Gilliver's Travels]

When it first opened, the Amex was presented as some kind of model, showcasing just how good modern football stadiums could be. This at least has been accomplished (largely) with its design.

Not so with the catering. Despite initial options that included the likes of Thai green curry, and talk of novelties like jacket potatoes, soup & rolls, all that has now gone.

Piglet's Pantry pies apart, what we have now is utterly indistinguishable from the kind of rubbish served up at every other ground – desiccated hotdogs, tasteless hamburgers and the like. It's shocking to see combinations of that rubbish promoted in a ludicrously overpriced 'meal deal'. You might as well be at Millwall.

It's still slightly better than at some grounds. At Ipswich last night, among the posh seats alongside the directors box, the food offerings were identikit basic, with no draft beers apart from dishwater Foster's. Is that what's next for us?

As others have noted, there must be a better way of providing decent catering for 25,000 people, albeit in very limited – but totally predictable - demand timeslots. But after five seasons of successive failure, I'm not holding my breath.

Thankfully, most of us go to the Amex for the football. For anything else, I'll continue to go to the pub.

 

[Easy 10]

All very commendable Easy but for a matchday experience, I want to watch the Albion and have a few pints. End of.

If I want to view an extensive food menu and indeed experience the food on offer, I go to a restaurant. I don't see the obsession with some people of stuffing their faces at a game of Football. The US is very different to us in that the game of choice on offer is largely secondary. I am baffled by the amount of people sitting in their seats not taking a blind bit of notice what is going on in front of them.

You must have noticed the sheer amount of people walking the concourses searching out what to shove down their necks rather than watch and support their alleged team play?

I'm not particularly fussed about eating or drinking during the game either, in fact I avoid it because the food is ridiculously expensive, utterly SHIT, and you have to queue for yonks to get hold of it, it so whats the point. There's no incentive there.

Yes the game is of course the no1 priority, its the whole point of turning up. But for me a sporting occasion is also a SOCIAL event. I meet up with a load of mates, some of whom live away and I don't see often, so its a chance to have a catchup over a few beers. Now if there was actually something DECENT going on foodwise in or around the Amex, I'd be more inclined to rock up at around 1pm for a scoff and a few beers with those mates, or maybe afterwards. But there isn't, so I don't.

If I was meeting up early on a matchday, the LAST place I'd do it is at the Amex. Wouldn't even consider it if I wanted lunch before the game. I'd head for somewhere in town first for a bite to eat and some beerage, and get to the ground as late as possible.

Thats a FAIL right there on the clubs part. And they're not unique, but a fail is a fail.

 

[Steve in Japan]

I am ok with a pie and a few beers, so range on offer is good. Would like to get served quicker at HT but that subject has been done to death and would seem to be the holy grail of Amex catering. Tantalising but impossible.

 

[fat old seagull]

I loved the Menus.....but have you got any idea how long it takes to get just a pre-cooked Pie at the Amex?
With our present Caterers, and those choices, you'd need to order on Friday for a Saturday game, and then not get fed until after halftime.

 

[fleet]

Was at the United Centre in Chicago a few weeks back - cheapest beer $10 and that was Bud! Decent beer $12 a bottle - not a big bottle. Wouldn't want a £10 pint at the Amex!