joel m. eichen d.d.s.

Osama is also to blame for
rising dental costs too I suppose ......

Oh its no problem though ........ you know how much more expensive the
homemade grub is that the value-priced stadium food .........


Posted on Wed, Jul. 16, 2003

No more BYO food for Eagles' fans
Team cites 9/11 as reason for ban at the Linc
By DON RUSSELL
russeld@phillynews.com

EAGLES FANS, leave your hoagies at home. All BYO food will be banned
at the Eagles' new Lincoln Financial Field when it opens next month.

In a startling policy acknowledged yesterday by team officials, the
Eagles said their fans would be prohibited from bringing snacks and
beverages to games.

Instead, hungry fans will have to stand in line and pay stiff prices
for stadium grub.

Why?

Blame it on Osama bin Laden.

Team officials said, in a post-9/11 world, outside food is a security
threat. In a statement, team president Joe Banner said:

"We have chosen, in consulting with security experts, to error [sic]
on the side of caution. In our opinion there is no room to debate
that, at this time in our history, this is the proper thing to do."

Left unsaid: Forcing fans to patronize the concession stands means big
bucks for the team.

It's part of the payoff under the team's complex deal with the city
that financed construction of the $515 million stadium. City taxpayers
were tapped for about $200 million toward the cost of the facility.

Unlike Veterans Stadium, where the team had to share concession sales
with the city, the Linc gives the Eagles control over food and
beverage sales. Though it was never ********ly stated, the team says
that control gives it the right to ban outside food.

Thus - in addition to costly seat licenses, higher ticket prices and
$139 million in stadium naming rights - the Eagles now stand to profit
on every morsel consumed in their new stadium.

Banner rejected any allegation of money-grubbing.

"It is patently irresponsible in this day and age to question the
motives behind a policy driven by and recommended by security
experts," he said. "There historically are a minuscule number of
Eagles fans who bring their own food to our games. To suggest that for
this minuscule number of people and dollars we would create a policy
that will require additional security and time-consuming searches -
just to possibly make a couple of dollars - is in our opinion totally
irresponsible. There is no basis whatsoever for any such accusation."

Team officials noted food bans are common at other football stadiums,
including at New England's Gillette Stadium and Baltimore's M&T Bank
Stadium.

But outside food is OK at Denver's Invesco Field, and a similar ban at
Seattle's new Seahawks Stadium was reversed after fan protest.

More importantly, bringing your own food to the stadium is a longtime
Philadelphia tradition - not just at the Vet, but at Shibe Park and
Franklin Field. Homemade sandwiches, hoagies from Primo's, and soft
pretzels and peanuts from parking-lot vendors aren't just a
cost-savings; they are culinary treats that touch the very heart of
the city's sports experience.

The decision to end 70 years of BYO food at Eagles games was first
hinted at last week, when stadium rules were published on the team's
Web site. Along with firearms, alcohol, laser pointers and umbrellas,
the list of "prohibited items and behavior" included "food."

Yesterday, Eagles Digest editor Dave Spadaro, an Eagles employee,
confirmed the policy in an interview on WIP (610-AM).

The policy was immediately greeted by boos.

At the team's online message board, angry writers said the team was
holding fans "hostage." They called it "price-gouging" and "an obvious
attempt to make more money."

Councilman David Cohen, who lost a lawsuit to halt construction of the
stadium, called the policy "an unwise decision."

"That seems to be at odds with their contention that the new stadium
is going to be more fan-friendly than the old stadium," Cohen said.
"There's too much emphasis on the money-grabbing aspect and less
concern about the comfort and convenience of fans.

"It's getting awfully expensive for a working-class man to take his
family to games."

Don't expect City Hall to go to bat for fans.

"This is really an Eagles issue," said Christine Ottow, a spokeswoman
for Mayor Street.

"We certainly sympathize with fans who want to bring their own food to
save money," Ottow said, "but this is an issue under the team's
control."

--
Joel M. Eichen, D.D.S.
Philadelphia PA

http://www.phillyducks.com
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