Will Fast-Food Vendors' Fare Fly at Ballpark?

By BRUCE HOROVITZ

April 12, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

A day at the ballpark may never taste the same.

Tired of Dodger Dogs? At Dodger Stadium you can also buy a Carl’s Jr. cheeseburger or a taco from Taco Bell. At San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium, you can grab a Domino’s pizza. And at the Oakland Coliseum, Subway submarine sandwiches are now hawked in the stands.

Fast-food giants have established beachheads at half a dozen ballparks. McDonald’s serves Big Mac’s at Toronto’s Skydome. Pizza Hut kiosks dot the concourse at the Seattle Superdome. And Domino’s Pizza--whose chairman owns the Detroit Tigers--peddles pizza at Tiger Stadium.

Forget those days of ballpark mystery meat and fizz-less soda pop. Food service industry experts are boldly predicting that by the end of the decade, most of the food sold at almost every major stadium will come directly from the kitchens of familiar fast-food chains.

“The fast food companies are all going through tough times,” said Barbara Dawson, West Coast editor of Restaurants & Institutions. That’s why McDonald’s and Burger King have recently begun to open units at airports, hospitals and even Army bases. “They’re always looking for new places to expand. And stadiums represent potentially brand new outlets.”

But this comes at a price. Some big-name, fast-food franchises are paying six-figure fees to sell at ballparks. Because of the large overhead--and limited selling time--the food prices are hefty. This runs contrary to the low-price images these fast-food chains enjoy outside the stadium gates. And some hungry fans are bound to balk.

The Famous Star burger sells for $2.75 at Dodger stadium--about 50 cents more than at most Carl’s Jr. outlets. The Big Mac that sells for $3.50 (Canadian) at the Skydome goes for about $2.40 (Canadian) at other McDonald’s stores in the Toronto area.

With these price differences, said Dawson, “customers may end up resenting the chains.”

As fast-food franchises move into stadiums, “they have to take a piece of the pie,” said Ed Elias, general manager of Ogden Entertainment Service, the food service operator at Anaheim Stadium. “Usually it’s the fans who get hurt,” said Elias, who has no plans to sign on any fast-food chains at the Big A.

Few of the chains expect to make much money on their stadium ventures. Instead, they view the deals as marvelous marketing opportunities.

Carl’s Jr. has become a marketing partner with the Dodgers. Carl’s will promote the fact that it now makes the “official” hamburger of the Dodgers. And the chain will enjoy prominent ad space in Dodger programs, yearbooks and even on the TVs at the ballpark.

Still, about 80% of the overall food sales at Dodger Stadium this season will be traditional favorites such as Dodger Dogs and peanuts. “It’s not as though we looked at Dodger Dogs and said this isn’t working,” said Bob Graziano, the Dodgers vice president of finance.

The Dodgers recently switched food services to Marriott Corp., which late last season took a fan survey. “They told us they wanted food made by companies they recognize,” said Rick Sneed, Marriott’s public relations director.

So Marriott has leased concession space to a handful of fast-food chains. And it spent $10 million over the past nine months to modernize the concessions. But fans who attended the preseason “Freeway Series” between the Dodgers and Angels at Dodger Stadium last weekend found many of the new concessions closed.

“We weren’t able to get ready on time,” Sneed said. “You have to consider the enormity of the task.” Sneed promises that all concession stands will be operating for today’s first home game.

Dodger Stadium wants to avoid the headaches Toronto’s Skydome has suffered since it opened two years ago. McDonald’s handles most concessions at the indoor stadium. At issue is the hefty prices inside the Skydome.

“Fans expected McDonald’s to drop its prices without understanding the investment that went into this,” said Glenn McKee, operations manager for McDonald’s at the Skydome. He said McDonald’s invested $45 million to provide food service there.

Subway’s sandwiches were sold for $4.25 earlier this week at the Oakland Coliseum during the Oakland A’s home opener, but cost $3.25 elsewhere in the city. “I’m certain there were some people who felt the price was too high, but they’ll get used to it,” said Deep Dhindsa, president of Subway Development Corp. He said the sandwich--filled with fresh ingredients--is actually a bargain compared to much of the food sold at the stadium.

Several additional fast-food chains are soon expected to sign long-term contracts with San Diego’s Jack Murphy Stadium. Elsewhere on the West Coast, the Seattle Mariners just signed Pizza Hut and TCBY Frozen Yogurt, hoping to spur fan interest. “We have to take risks to bring fans into the park,” said Greg Elliott, director of marketing. “Maybe this will give them a reason to stay until the seventh inning.”

BALLPARK FOOD Familiar fast-food franchises at ballparks*

Dodger Stadium

Carl’s Jr.

Taco Bell

Pizza Hut

TCBY Frozen Yogurt

San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium**

Domino’s Pizza

Rubio’s Fish Tacos

Oakland Coliseum

Subway submarine sandwiches

Round Table Pizza