Are Stadium Beer Prices Correlated to Winning?

Turns out, yes.

over 2 years ago joeee 25 comments 0 recs |

Comments

Of course, nothing compares to Boston’s Fenway Park. There, you’ll pay $7.25 for just 12 ounces—a rate that is, ounce for ounce and win for win, the worst beer value in baseball.

this is known as “The Douche Tax”

by Brick. on Sep 11, 2009 3:46 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

$7.25?! Wow.

by Ryan on Sep 11, 2009 3:58 PM EDT up reply actions

You know what the tickets cost?

by Jay on Sep 11, 2009 4:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, sure. The truly shocking thing is that the average premium ticket at Nationals Park is almost $200. Egad.

by FredOx on Sep 11, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I know. Which is one reason why I’m probably not seeing a game in Fenway any time soon.

by Ryan on Sep 11, 2009 5:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I have to say, in my year living up here, and it really does pain me to say this, i have come to really enjoy going to Fenway. It’s expensive, but there are good seats in the $35-45 range (not cheap, I realize), and I haven’t ever left a game not feeling like I got my money’s worth. I know…ex-communicate me now.

by APV on Sep 11, 2009 6:11 PM EDT up reply actions

How tall are you?

by Jay on Sep 11, 2009 7:12 PM EDT up reply actions

5’10"

by APV on Sep 11, 2009 7:55 PM EDT up reply actions

Well, not that you’re short or anything, but trust me, those seats aren’t worth five bucks if you’re 6’4".

by Jay on Sep 11, 2009 8:19 PM EDT up reply actions

I can see that

by APV on Sep 11, 2009 8:22 PM EDT up reply actions

I am 6’4 and those seats need to be free.

by Roger Dorn on Sep 11, 2009 8:33 PM EDT up reply actions

I might have to stand on one of the seats just to see the field.

by Brad D on Sep 16, 2009 11:09 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s a great stadium. The seats are tough, but it’s worth the discomfort.

by odradek on Sep 12, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions

$7 for a 16 oz. can in the Mezz.
Not sure about draft prices down there as I just don’t enjoy the draft beer down at the corner of Carnegie and Ontario.

by The DiaTriber on Sep 11, 2009 4:04 PM EDT reply actions

This article re-inforces the phrase “there’s lies, damn lies, and statistics.”

Good teams don’t equal high beer prices. Beer is another source of revenue. If you are paying higher salaries and getting better players, you’ll charge more for a 16 oz. beer. You’ll also charge more for tickets, hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, jerseys, programs, etc etc.

They have the data, but came to the wrong conclusion (or worded it wrong).

by lenred on Sep 11, 2009 5:21 PM EDT reply actions

They worded it right. There is correlation, but not necessarily causation.

by Jay on Sep 11, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

If there were causation, it would be simple to raise beer prices and cause winning. Presto,

by odradek on Sep 12, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions

I didn’t read it as deriving any conclusion at all. Seemed like they were just cheekily pointing out a correlation. I mean, this is the Journal, not Mark Whicker. They don’t really believe there’s a causal relationship.

The once and future

by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Sep 11, 2009 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

Well… there’s correlation here, not causation.

by joeee on Sep 11, 2009 5:31 PM EDT up reply actions

Well I see all three of us had essentially the same thought at the same time.

The once and future

by Manhattan Tribe Fan on Sep 11, 2009 11:37 PM EDT up reply actions

This is a consideration for the decadent. Cans of beer are available for less than $1 at retail stores.

by elsandito on Sep 11, 2009 5:27 PM EDT reply actions

6+ dollar beer was my tipping point. It’s probably caused me to go to far fewer games then I have in the past. In fact, I usually sit at Panini’s until the 3rd inning (or later) to offset the food costs.

by Toxicadam on Sep 11, 2009 5:54 PM EDT reply actions

You intentionally miss the first pitch? For shame.

by JulioBernazard on Sep 14, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

It wasn’t clear to me from the study, but there is a lot of state to state variation in alcohol taxes. It would seem that as a basic measure, prices could be made tax-neutral for comparison. Granted, the effect is probably small on an $8 beer.

by APV on Sep 11, 2009 6:13 PM EDT reply actions