Stadium food

Tangerine Tractor

Tangerine Tractor

Well-known member
Should clubs look to make big profits on stadium food and drink? Or should it be priced to encourage fans to use it? And what about the choice and quality? Is getting some decent food at the ground part of the matchday experience? Does it make a difference as to whether some people attend matches?

Brentford charge £6.95 thr this burger and waffle fries. We charge more than that for two bags of Maltesers.

1705916779172.jpeg
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Should clubs look to make big profits on stadium food and drink? Or should it be priced to encourage fans to use it? And what about the choice and quality? Is getting some decent food at the ground part of the matchday experience? Does it make a difference as to whether some people attend matches?

Brentford charge £6.95 thr this burger and waffle fries. We charge more than that for two bags of Maltesers.

View attachment 18065
Click to expand...
Steve the food in the ground is quite simply woeful - pies, hot dogs, crisps and chocolate is pretty much it. Clubs at all levels up and down the country are doing food like this yet we cannot ( for what ever reason ) or will not do it. It’s been raised with the SLO numerous times and as per nothing ever happens or is fed (pardon the pun) back.
 
Seasidedaz said:
Steve the food in the ground is quite simply woeful - pies, hot dogs, crisps and chocolate is pretty much it. Clubs at all levels up and down the country are doing food like this yet we cannot ( for what ever reason ) or will not do it. It’s been raised with the SLO numerous times and as per nothing ever happens or is fed (pardon the pun) back.
Click to expand...
Not quite true. They opened a healthy eating outlet a few seasons back but didn't last due to lack of use.
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Should clubs look to make big profits on stadium food and drink? Or should it be priced to encourage fans to use it? And what about the choice and quality? Is getting some decent food at the ground part of the matchday experience? Does it make a difference as to whether some people attend matches?

Brentford charge £6.95 thr this burger and waffle fries. We charge more than that for two bags of Maltesers.

View attachment 18065
Click to expand...
Keep the traditional but add decent options, like some you see on social media even at lesser clubs.

Would love something like this..

https://twitter.com/x/status/1487435751554002950

Burgers. Loads more examples on that page.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1667184120500199424

 
bollieboy said:
Not quite true. They opened a healthy eating outlet a few seasons back but didn't last due to lack of use.
Click to expand...
Macros was great but shut down, always seemed busy, the actual shop...

The one in the South was unavailable for the younger generation who might use it more on the north side.
 
The majority of the ‘footy scran’ posted on those accounts isn’t actually bought in the ground of the teams that it states - usually from a local business or catering van near the ground
 
Had chips & curry sauce from the burger van outside the back of the North stand a couple of games ago. Was excellent quality and reasonably priced. 👍
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Should clubs look to make big profits on stadium food and drink? Or should it be priced to encourage fans to use it? And what about the choice and quality? Is getting some decent food at the ground part of the matchday experience? Does it make a difference as to whether some people attend matches?

Brentford charge £6.95 thr this burger and waffle fries. We charge more than that for two bags of Maltesers.

View attachment 18065
Click to expand...
Early bird offer for that Burger and Fries normal price £8.95.

Not a chance that can be served from our bog standard concessions it's a fairly new ground if you want something like that you'd have to go to the Corner Flag.

We've had healthy options,Vegan,biryani none worked even the old Supporters bar used to sell Chips and was rarely used.

As fans is there an appetite (no pun intended) for something else when outside the ground we've a Chippy and a Burger van and McDonald's down the road?

The change in policy this season stopping fans bringing food into the ground might change fans needs but like the cheap drinks offer the club do pre game I still go to the pub or Morreti lounge which a pie is included in the deal.
 
I rarely eat or drink at the stadium, preferring to have my fish butty or fish and chips then a few pints of decent ale before attending. I do occasionally, if late have a pie and a pint at the ground and find it acceptable, although not a lover of John Smiths.

I would add, that I am not a lover of plastic glasses, but understand fully why they are used. I had a problem with one a few weeks back, which split and covered me and one poor woman in beer. Fortunately I was forgiven.
 
Last edited:
For some of these meals, it could be difficult to eat whilst standing in a busy concourse or at your seat (where to put the rubbish after). As posted already, perhaps in the lounge.

I've only had 1 steak pie this season (pies this season not great imo) whereas last season I liked the pasties and bought one almost every home game.

Rarely have a beer at the ground, but the Cruzcampo is quite good
 
Last edited:
I don't think there is kitchen space behind any of our kiosks. That's why everything is pre-cooked and just kept warm.

Mind you, I'd love to see a burger like that Brentford one, and that's a great price for a London club!
 
It was also a nice bonus to have the "liquor shack" at Bristol Rovers on Saturday where you could also get a short of your choice rather than a pint....we're not talking premium brands but a decent selection. They had no bitter but Peroni and Thatchers Gold too all from a little van......often wondered why shorts aren't more readily available...it was just the job on a cold day in the South West!!!
 
I know I mentioned at the time but the offering at Burton was very good quality and value - struggled to finish the burger and chips - Inc drink think it was £8.

Compare with Bolton - dreadful mass produced shite and expensive.

Don't use our unless desperate.
 
JJpool said:
Macros was great but shut down, always seemed busy, the actual shop...

The one in the South was unavailable for the younger generation who might use it more on the north side.
Click to expand...
The one on Whitegate Dr? Never saw anyone in it.
 
With the club's presumably finite budget, I'd rather the money be spent elsewhere to be honest.

I don't know anyone that relies on the club for eating options currently though for pies and general refreshments, the ones the club offer seem fairly standard for me. I think they tried mixing it up by offering curries a year or two ago but presumably stopped due to low demand (would need fact checking but assuming that's the case).

I think the idea of football club's offering things like smash burgers, chips, kebabs, in this case, waffle fries, is a bit of an american trend coming over here and encouraged via social media by social media pages like the one shared above.
 
Nothing wrong with Football grub, pies, hotdogs etc all quick and easy and relatively mess free

If i wanted a sit down meal i would have one before or after

No idea why people are trying to change things all the time

oh and the prices are also fine, of course the club should make money out of match day food

Please tell me the OP and new BST committee bloke isn't wasting time and effort trying to change the food offerings at BFC
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
The one on Whitegate Dr? Never saw anyone in it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it did close so I guess it had to have some issues, but those type of places seem pretty popular.

There's one on Bloomfield road isn't there does healthy stuff.

Probably never be as popular as the unhealthy ones, but seems a growing market.
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Should clubs look to make big profits on stadium food and drink? Or should it be priced to encourage fans to use it? And what about the choice and quality? Is getting some decent food at the ground part of the matchday experience? Does it make a difference as to whether some people attend matches?

Brentford charge £6.95 thr this burger and waffle fries. We charge more than that for two bags of Maltesers.

View attachment 18065
Click to expand...
What you are actually asking is "Should the owner of our loss-making football club subsidise the cost of the food offering?"

Is this a new BST initiative?
 
TheLuker said:
What you are actually asking is "Should the owner of our loss-making football club subsidise the cost of the food offering?"

Is this a new BST initiative?
Click to expand...
No it’s not a BST initiative.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion though 👍
 
Last edited:
I agree with Phil that the club should look to make a decent profit on refreshments

Equally the choice at BFC is pretty uninspiring

As an aside the one place you can't buy food is in the Moretti ( and presumably Heineken ) Lounge

You can have your free pie but that's your lot even if they have spare

Bit bizarre
 
Nothing to do with BST.
Just opinions.
Some clubs see it as part of the matchday "experience" - you get new fans to become regular fans by giving them a good experience, and that includes the facilities and services as well as the football itself. Personally, I'm not that bothered at home games, but away it's often good to get something filling and decent. I do think our prices are over the top though. I'm sure there's a different pricepoint where the total sales would compensate for the reduced margins.
 
There's two sides to this :-

1). It's incredibly short sighted and turning away revenue to not have food and drink offerings that get fans in at 1pm to eat, drink and then watch the match. If you can get fans in earlier, you can increase their per head spend.

2). There simply aren't the facilities to offer an array of food. Most of the kiosks have catering equipment for keeping pre cooked food at a passable temperature whilst it gradually degrades. A symptom of o the Oystons doing everything to the bare minimum specification possible with no future proofing.

Hopefully the East stand development contains a catering strategy that can provide improved options to all 4 stands. Until then, do what @voyeur says and support the local businesses around the area who provide better options at better value.
 
Sounds silly, but my lad plays footy but isn't yet that bothered about watching it - but last year the sausage rolls were almost Gregg's like (yes that good!) and for that reason alone he was quite chipper about coming. This year they're...bang average. Put pastry in a plastic bag it comes out soggy and a bit rubbish surprisingly. He's much less keen to come as a result! Food matters! 😃
 
I'm sure you used to be able to get burgers, chips etc in the old west paddock in the 90s? One of the few areas where the club has regressed over the years.

Stuff like bottle bars/sellers selling beers and pizza slices would be an easy win that could be done for a big markup.
 
 
TwelveAngryMen said:
I agree with Phil that the club should look to make a decent profit on refreshments

Equally the choice at BFC is pretty uninspiring

As an aside the one place you can't buy food is in the Moretti ( and presumably Heineken ) Lounge

You can have your free pie but that's your lot even if they have spare

Bit bizarre
Click to expand...
Yeah i was going to say that if the club did want to try something different the lounges are probably the best place to trial it
 
Tango1953 said:
There's two sides to this :-

1). It's incredibly short sighted and turning away revenue to not have food and drink offerings that get fans in at 1pm to eat, drink and then watch the match. If you can get fans in earlier, you can increase their per head spend.

2). There simply aren't the facilities to offer an array of food. Most of the kiosks have catering equipment for keeping pre cooked food at a passable temperature whilst it gradually degrades. A symptom of o the Oystons doing everything to the bare minimum specification possible with no future proofing.

Hopefully the East stand development contains a catering strategy that can provide improved options to all 4 stands. Until then, do what @voyeur says and support the local businesses around the area who provide better options at better value.
Click to expand...
Aren't there offerings in the various boxes and lounges from 1pm?

I guess, therefore, that you are referring to food and drink offerings on the concourses. So what offerings would get you in from 1pm? There's nothing whatsoever they could offer me to get me there before 2.30pm.
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Nothing to do with BST.
Just opinions.
Some clubs see it as part of the matchday "experience" - you get new fans to become regular fans by giving them a good experience, and that includes the facilities and services as well as the football itself. Personally, I'm not that bothered at home games, but away it's often good to get something filling and decent. I do think our prices are over the top though. I'm sure there's a different pricepoint where the total sales would compensate for the reduced margins.
Click to expand...
They aren't over the top at all
 
I think the food at the ground is pretty poor tbh. Pricing seems standard so no issue there just not great tasting grub I don't think. I did used to get something for me and my clan at the burger van at the north and then go sit down and watch the warm ups inside and buy a drink but since we are now banned I just don't bother at all with anything. Out of interest, why do they not just do portions of chips? They'd sell way more portions than those dodgy pies.
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Just opinions.
Some clubs see it as part of the matchday "experience" - you get new fans to become regular fans by giving them a good experience, and that includes the facilities and services as well as the football itself. Personally, I'm not that bothered at home games, but away it's often good to get something filling and decent. I do think our prices are over the top though. I'm sure there's a different pricepoint where the total sales would compensate for the reduced margins.
Click to expand...
I travel to quite a few away games and our offerings are fine and reasonably priced.
 
The club could if they wanted, put a catering van/unit outside the stadium, maybe in the car park. There’s one next to the Armfield, so presumably it does ok.
 
They should do a fanzone with a couple of independent retailers and a bar. It doesn't have to be fancy like you get at City or West Ham. Wycombe away was alright, had a nice hotdog there, better than that rollover shite 👍

There's nowhere decent around the ground to get some food with a beer so we go to Abingdon Street Market and walk up later on. It wouldn't take much to get us to the ground an hour earlier and we'd spend our money there instead.
 
Sven said:
They should do a fanzone with a couple of independent retailers and a bar. It doesn't have to be fancy like you get at City or West Ham. Wycombe away was alright, had a nice hotdog there, better than that rollover shite 👍

There's nowhere decent around the ground to get some food with a beer so we go to Abingdon Street Market and walk up later on. It wouldn't take much to get us to the ground an hour earlier and we'd spend our money there instead.
Click to expand...
That’s it, I’ve been to a few grounds with fan zones, Man City is fantastic and very busy
 
TheLuker said:
So what offerings would get you in from 1pm? There's nothing whatsoever they could offer me to get me there before 2.30pm.
Click to expand...


Everyone is different, but for me, if there was somewhere comfortable to watch the early kick off, with a seat and a table for my pint and a bit of food that wasn't simply a pie or rollover hot dog) then I'd be more inclined to get to the stadium early and have my pre-match food and couple of pints there.

If you want ideas for food then have a look at the Footy Scran account on Twitter. Non league place in particular go above and beyond as it makes up a bigger portion of their revenue than pro clubs. Ultimately it a moot point though as the kiosks don't have the facilities to prepare, cook, or store these types of food.


https://x.com/NottsNomad/status/1747567816394289357?s=20

https://x.com/FootyScran/status/1746167221338984943?s=20

https://x.com/FootyScran/status/1745095166447231305?s=20

 
TheLuker said:
Aren't there offerings in the various boxes and lounges from 1pm?

I guess, therefore, that you are referring to food and drink offerings on the concourses. So what offerings would get you in from 1pm? There's nothing whatsoever they could offer me to get me there before 2.30pm.
Click to expand...
Beer is a £1 off before 2.30pm . £3.50 for a pint of cruzcampo is very good . John Smiths £2.50
 
I think as has been said before a fan zone would cover this off. Get people there early spending money on food and drink stalls with a bit of music from some artists wanting a bit of exposure. Doesn't need to cost the club much and I think done right it would actually make some.
 
Dave62 said:
For some of these meals, it could be difficult to eat whilst standing in a busy concourse or at your seat (where to put the rubbish after). As posted already, perhaps in the lounge.

I've only had 1 steak pie this season (pies this season not great imo) whereas last season I liked the pasties and bought one almost every home game.

Rarely have a beer at the ground, but the Cruzcampo is quite good
Click to expand...
Don’t tell Paul about your thoughts on the pies Dave or worst still Phil even if the latter is Only there in spirit right now😂
 
Tangerine Tractor said:
Should clubs look to make big profits on stadium food and drink? Or should it be priced to encourage fans to use it? And what about the choice and quality? Is getting some decent food at the ground part of the matchday experience? Does it make a difference as to whether some people attend matches?

Brentford charge £6.95 thr this burger and waffle fries. We charge more than that for two bags of Maltesers.

View attachment 18065
Click to expand...
Tbh I’ve never really understood why anyone over the age of 12 feels the need to eat at the football. Eat before/after. Who goes to the footy for the food?

Could sympathise if you don’t have another time to eat either side of the match but apart from that I don’t get it.
 
Critchknows said:
Out of interest, why do they not just do portions of chips? They'd sell way more portions than those dodgy pies.
Click to expand...

No fryers in the kiosks, and by the time you've got them from wherever in the building there is a fryer, to a kiosk via a banquetting trolley similar, it's pretty much not worth the effort. You also can't just add fryers as they need extraction which, again, the kiosks don't have.
 
Shiggy said:
Tbh I’ve never really understood why anyone over the age of 12 feels the need to eat at the football. Eat before/after. Who goes to the footy for the food?
Click to expand...

Whether you understand why they do or not, people do, for a huge variety of reasons. As for who goes for the food, no-one, certainly not with the current Bloomfield Road offerings.

You don't go for the food, but having a tasty palatable option at the ground is useful for a wide range of people.

-Dads taking their kids to the game as part of a day out. They'd need to eat anyway, so somewhere convenient to do it at the ground if there's a good option would reduce the logistics of the day.
-People traveling from outside Blackpool, their day isn't as simple as leaving home at 2.30, walking to the ground, and being back by 5.15pm. They may leave their home at 12 and get back at 8, specifically to go to the ground to watch the game. Giving them a convenient food option would maybe give them one less stop off in their day.
-People on shift work who finish work just before the game starts, or start just after the game ends, can head straight to the ground, get their food, and watch the game.

I',m sure there's plenty of other demographics and routines I haven't considered. And that's quite aside from just getting people to want to go there because the food and drink options are worth it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top