Sports Illustrated had a recent article which reports that half of all major ballparks in the U.S. of A are now offering all-you-can-eat tickets. That's right, for a flat ticket fee (a cost of around $40 at some parks), you can get through the turnstiles and go directly to concessions to gorge yourself on as many hot dogs, pretzels, and gloppy nachos as one can stuff into one's gullet.
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This, the magazine said, is a growing trend that has boosted ticket sales at the stadiums that have instituted it. Fans like it too since there's no more futzing around buying individual items and getting inevitable sticker shock that they've just shelled out $6 for a soda. They perceive it as “cost-effective”.
One fan cited in the story thought the AYCE option was so convenient that he even decided it was a better idea to just watch the game on the TV at the concourse. Why walk back to your seat when you can be where the food is!?
Nutritionists, naturally, aren't so thrilled about the whole idea.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.