Atlanta Falcons Broke the Rules of Stadium Food and It Paid Off
- Lower prices encouraged fans to come earlier and buy more
- Team made less profit but said the halo effects are worth it
When the Atlanta Falcons announced the food prices at their new $1.5 billion stadium -- $2 hot dogs and sodas, $3 nachos, $5 beer -- fans loved it, and people in other cities started pushing their local ownership groups to follow suit.
Falcons owner Arthur Blank had made a calculated bet that what the organization lost in markup, it would recoup in volume -- fans would come earlier, stay longer and buy enough food to make up the difference.