Walk into a baseball stadium today and you’ll likely see people chowing down on much more than peanuts and cracker jacks. A growing trend of all-you-can-eat style options in major league ballparks entitles many sports fans to a buffet styled choice of nachos, hot dogs, sodas, ice cream, and yes, even peanuts with the purchase of a ticket. In fact, you may even see fans watching the game on TV from inside the concourse simply to be closer to the food.
Many baseball franchises are attempting to boost attendance by promoting these all or nothing buffets of greasy ballpark food. Nineteen of the 30 major league teams offer these all-you-can-eat seats at many of their games, a major increase from the six that did so in 2007.
Because the typical American point of view is to get the most value out of a purchase, fans are eating double or even triple what they normally do, thereby embodying all the concerns of nutritionists and heath professionals in today’s increasingly obese world.
“Anytime you have an open buffet, people are more likely to eat more and drink more,” said Lona Sandon, a registered dietician and American Dietetic Association national spokesman. “It’s perceived as cost-effective. Well, not when it comes to your health.”
The rising rates of obesity in adults and children raise the question of whether teams are being socially neglectful by setting up these buffet sections.
Teams responded by claiming the intention is not for fans to gorge themselves, but Orioles fan, Michele Sparklin, sums up the fan’s perspective by saying, “When there’s a hot dog in your face, you have to take it.”
A few teams have started to implement healthier options in their ballparks and all-inclusive sections. The Orioles, for one, added salads to the menu this season. But as of right now, healthy food choices are mostly absent in these sections.
Despite steps towards implementing nutritional options in ballparks, Sandon worries that the long-standing traditions of fans devouring hot dogs and nachos at a baseball game are too ingrained.
“It’s the concept of culture,” Sandon said. “People expect to go to a ballgame and have a hot dog smothered in chili cheese. People choose on taste. What’s the tastiest? Even if you weren’t hungry when you walked in, it’s tough to walk into a ballpark and not get triggered by the aroma of the smell of the hot dogs.”