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Ravens try to win back fans with lower concession prices


Gas2No99

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Ravens try to win back fans with lower concession prices

2:07 PM ET
  • hensley_jamison.png&w=160&h=160&scale=cr
    Jamison HensleyESPN Staff Writer

OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- The Baltimore Ravens are continuing to try to win back fans, announcing Tuesday they will reduce concession prices at M&T Bank Stadium in 2018.

This is the latest example of the Ravens looking to repair the relationship with fans who have become angered by some players' national anthem protests and disappointed by a three-year playoff drought.

Over the past few months, the Ravens invited fans to ask questions at a media pre-draft news conference; held a question-and-answer session with fans at the team facility with owner Steve Bisciotti, coach John Harbaugh and general manager Ozzie Newsome; and had team president Dick Cass meet and talk to fan clubs.

The Ravens have sold out every game during their 20-year history at M&T Bank Stadium, but there were an increasing number of empty seats throughout last season. The no-shows were in the thousands for the 14th-largest stadium in the league.

At the NFL owners meetings in March, Cass said there has been "a disconnect" with fans.

"We have to do a better job of engaging with our fans," Cass said.

The Ravens are following the lead of the Atlanta Falcons, who dropped prices of concessions after moving into the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium and made more money. The Falcons lowered prices on food and beverage by 50 percent and fans spent 16 percent more.

Bisciotti said in February he thought about doing this but pointed out that the team would need to renegotiate the contract with its vendor.

"It's something I would really like to take a hard look at, and at least, come up with select items that we can do," Bisciotti said then. "If it means us ... I can't make Aramark do that with me, but I can make them go along as long as it's my share of the profits that I'm waiving. Yeah, I'd like to take a look at that. I think we could probably do that."

The Ravens will hold a news conference Thursday to officially announce the price reductions on food and drink.

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most hard core NFL  fans are patriotic Americans, and don't want to see the players kneel during the American National anthem, yet stand for the British anthem as the Ravens did.  so it's not about the food, but there is something else leaving a bad taste in their mouth...

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Lowering the food price by 50 percent just means that they will be making 500 % profit instead of 1000% profit. Appears like a good move for us fans but now they sell more hot dogs at 10$ a pop instead of 20$ a pop. So they wind up making more money. NICCE! And they make it seem to our benefit. NICCE!

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No one paying $5,000 a year for 4 season tickets cares if a hot dog costs $2.25 less. 

Season ticket holders have to buy seats in bad seasons in order to have them for good  seasons.  So as long as the teams have that philosophy they will have to deal with no-shows.  We don’t have a choice on whether not to spend the money but we certainly have a choice as to whether or not to spend our time. 

SAR I

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This is significant to me.

a main reason I don’t attend games is because I feel like it’s an insult to gouge me so much to rent some asphalt in a swamp to park and to get a beer and a hot dog.  

I’m the customer- the one who paid a lot for tickets and took a Sunday to cheer for your product- you should try to keep me happy and ripping me off every chance you get doesn’t make me happy.

lowering concessions would have a real impact on my feelings regarding going to more games

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It's a lot easier to get ripped off for food if your team is playing well  

charging less for concessions is a red herring that sounds good but doesn't really do anything lasting for the fan base or create the goodwill that ownership really wants. 

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1 hour ago, David Harris said:

This is significant to me.

a main reason I don’t attend games is because I feel like it’s an insult to gouge me so much to rent some asphalt in a swamp to park and to get a beer and a hot dog.  

I’m the customer- the one who paid a lot for tickets and took a Sunday to cheer for your product- you should try to keep me happy and ripping me off every chance you get doesn’t make me happy.

lowering concessions would have a real impact on my feelings regarding going to more games

Very True. But you have to get ripped off because you are at the game - that's what it seems like. Getting hot dogs and beer at reasonable prices at the game would really go a long way towards a general sense that the team cares about it's fan base.

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1 hour ago, T0mShane said:

I’ve been with my current gf for 2 1/2 years and the biggest fight we’ve had was over the time she paid face value for Jets-Chargers tickets as a surprise Christmas gift.

I would have dumped you right then and there for forcing me to watch rivers beat the jets.

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In the CFL a few years back they started doing sh*t like having game starts at 5 pm local time with the excuse that it is for the eastern tv watchers.  (I live in mountain time zone).  In reality it is a concession cash grab as much as anything.

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3 hours ago, roscoeword said:

most hard core NFL  fans are patriotic Americans, and don't want to see the players kneel during the American National anthem, yet stand for the British anthem as the Ravens did.  so it's not about the food, but there is something else leaving a bad taste in their mouth...

                                                                     :good:

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48 minutes ago, Nixhead said:

Very True. But you have to get ripped off because you are at the game - that's what it seems like. Getting hot dogs and beer at reasonable prices at the game would really go a long way towards a general sense that the team cares about it's fan base.

The sooner people realize it's about the Benjamins and NOT the fan base the easier every will come into focus.  It's gotten worse since Goodell's come into power with the London games etc.

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2 hours ago, T0mShane said:

I’ve been with my current gf for 2 1/2 years and the biggest fight we’ve had was over the time she paid face value for Jets-Chargers tickets as a surprise Christmas gift.

She gives YOU a surprise Christmas gift and you fight over the price SHE paid for them ? I bet she was surprised by your reactions.

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6 hours ago, roscoeword said:

most hard core NFL  fans are patriotic Americans, and don't want to see the players kneel during the American National anthem, yet stand for the British anthem as the Ravens did.  so it's not about the food, but there is something else leaving a bad taste in their mouth...

NASCAR ratings and attendance are heavily declining.  Too liberal? 

Overall television viewership is down.

The NBA is currently an exception.

This narrative is complete nonsense.  

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3 hours ago, Beerfish said:

I would have dumped you right then and there for forcing me to watch rivers beat the jets.

Nah nah nah. I’d been clear since day one that I dislike going to Jets games even though I like the Jets, which was apparently a thought she couldn’t reconcile in her mind. So as we’re getting closer to Christmas last year, she tells me she has a “surprise” and that I have to be available that Sunday and I shuddered because I knew it’d be the sh*t-ass Jets in their godforsaken prison-like trash stadium vs a West Coast team that was going to play like they can’t wait to get back on the goddamn plane. But then I felt a glimmer of hope, like, maybe there’d be a Christmas miracle and she was really just trying to tell me she needs an abortion or something preferable like that, but ALAS. And then I had another thought, like, oh sh*t please tell me you didn’t pay more than eight dollars for these tickets because you can get these worthless tickets on Stubhub for pennies, and she was like, “The Jets website” and I couldn’t even hide the suffering on my face and she was like “what?” and I was like, “you’ll see.” It wasn’t that bad, actually. The seats were, like, 4th row back on the 40 and I spent most of the time watching Rivers screaming at his offensive line, who were all pressed up against the hot-air blowers every time they came off the field. Robby Anderson caught a deep TD right in front of us that was called back on a bullsh*t OPI call and I had to explain to her that the refs do sh*t like that to the Jets because the Jets are historically crappy and nobody respects them, at all, so it’s like spitting on a homeless guy. This was also the game that Rivers threw the ball on a parabolic arc that took thirty seconds to travel 25 yards and some dude named Hunter Henry easily pulled it in at the 1 with Jamal Adams in coverage and I screamed “WHO’S DANCING NOW, MC HAMMER?” We left at the end of the third.

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6 hours ago, roscoeword said:

most hard core NFL  fans are patriotic Americans, and don't want to see the players kneel during the American National anthem, yet stand for the British anthem as the Ravens did.  so it's not about the food, but there is something else leaving a bad taste in their mouth...

Flatpanel/home entertainment popularity is a game changer. Same for movie theatre ticket decline. 

Stadium parking should be free at least for the majority. Fans pay for gas, inconvenience, tire wear, brake pads, miles/depreciation, etc.   

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Once legalized gambling starts popping up everywhere I have to wonder if admission to these games will be a lot cheaper.  The admission to horse racing is usually cheap because they want you in there to bet.  Imagine if you can do in-game wagering from your seat.   Sports stadiums will essentially turn into sports books.  

The above assumes that it will only be legal in very select places (e.g. casinos, racetracks and maybe the football stadiums themselves).  I guess each state will have to decide the rules but we all know that there will be a push for limited places where you can gamble (because obviously it greatly benefits those who can allow that).  It's too early to say but I could easily see the sports landscape changing greatly going forward.  The idea of rooting for a team without having a gambling interest might really wane (as would merchandise sales, PSLs etc).  Kids won't be as into sports either.

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11 hours ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Once legalized gambling starts popping up everywhere I have to wonder if admission to these games will be a lot cheaper.  The admission to horse racing is usually cheap because they want you in there to bet.  Imagine if you can do in-game wagering from your seat.   Sports stadiums will essentially turn into sports books.  

The above assumes that it will only be legal in very select places (e.g. casinos, racetracks and maybe the football stadiums themselves).  I guess each state will have to decide the rules but we all know that there will be a push for limited places where you can gamble (because obviously it greatly benefits those who can allow that).  It's too early to say but I could easily see the sports landscape changing greatly going forward.  The idea of rooting for a team without having a gambling interest might really wane (as would merchandise sales, PSLs etc).  Kids won't be as into sports either.

Sports betting has been legal in the UK in what seems like forever and the fans are as passionate about their soccer teams as they ever were.  The only difference I see is possibly the fantasy betting where team loyalty is sometimes secondary to the fantasy team.  Gambling overall may not have a huge effect on loyalty but you will definitely be more pissed when the Jets give a late FG or TD and cost you some money.      

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