Accurate pricing on stadium food?

Submitted by Blazefire on

This is not to complain about the price of the food at the stadium (which is freaking crazy), but rather to verify.

At halftime today, I went to the cart directly across from the south end of section 21 and bought two bottles of pop and a box of popcorn. The prices on the sign were $4 each for pop and $5 for popcorn. I handed the girl $13 and started to turn away. She said, "It's 14." I added it up for her, "$8 for pop plus 5 for popcorn is $13." "Popcorn is $6", she said. I told her the sign says $5, which it did, so that's what I would pay. She said okay and I went back to my seat.

The question is, I've NEVER known the listed prices in the stadium to be wrong. They get up there with sticker numbers before games and make changes all the time, and this was just one of the "superpretzel" carts. Between that and the fact that she didn't argue with me but just said "ok", I'm wondering if she and the other kids working the cart were trying to skim? Should I email the Athletic Department?

DGDestroys

September 17th, 2011 at 11:25 PM ^

I don't know about other people, but I'd guess it was an apathetic kid who got the price wrong but didn't really care. I wouldn't worry about it, personally, but that's just me.

Lancer

September 17th, 2011 at 11:56 PM ^

man i remember for the first game...me and my sis spent 8 dollars for 2 water bottles :|...20 mins later we got all the water in the world. but its like that at any sports event...

Papochronopolis

September 17th, 2011 at 11:58 PM ^

at the ND night game I asked for 2 hot dogs.  I whipped out a 10 thinking I might get a couple bucks back..  The guy said $12 sir.  I looked at him like he was crazy and he said "whatever 10 works."  I still felt like a kid who just got his lunch money stolen by the school bully...

Jon06

September 18th, 2011 at 12:12 AM ^

I assume if you do something like that you're acting alone, but you ought to be able to give them enough information to figure out who it is, and her manager can decide what to do about it from there.

LSAClassOf2000

September 18th, 2011 at 8:15 AM ^

.....and I swear it was $4 over there. I did, however, note some trouble with basic math at one of the Big House Grill stands. My wife got a basket of fries and they tried to charge us for something more expensive at first - this person was scanning a hastily handwritten list of items and prices though. Apparently, they are either new or that passes for training lately. 

rockydude

September 18th, 2011 at 12:45 AM ^

You could email the athletic department, not to try and get that specific employee in trouble or anything, but just so that the powers that be know what is what and take actions so that this won't happen to other people. Given that the stuff is so expensive anyway, nobody needs an extra markup. I hate to think how much popcorn you'd get at the store for 5$ . . . . 

France719

September 18th, 2011 at 9:47 AM ^

Last week I went out and bought a mini pizza, a hotdog and  water.  I had a complete 'wtf' moment when she told me it was $19 total.  Her explanation was that "It was a really big hotdog", which was a bold face lie.

Wolverine Devotee

September 18th, 2011 at 12:05 PM ^

The hotdogs are world class-good at The Big House. But they charge $4 which they should be $2 or $3 IMO. I spent $16 on hotdogs ALONE yesterday. That doesn't even include our annual breakfast at the Dennys on Washtenaw and then dinner later that night at Chillis. Also, when the hell did Papa Johns become the pizza sold at The Big House? I loved Hungry Howies...

Side note: You should have heard how loud everyone around me in the bar at Chillis was when ND got the late INT against state. Kind of funny.

a2bluefan

September 18th, 2011 at 5:29 PM ^

Hotdogs..... depends on where you go.  There's one stand at one of the north end out-buildings that pre-makes their dogs en masse, shoves 'em in a foil pouch, then stores them in a large bin. When you pull the hotdog out of the foil, the bun is mashed down flat and plastered to the frank. You have to peel it off to be able to put any condiments on the thing. Those dogs aren't worth a plug nickel, let alone four friggin' bucks. Other places don't do this, and they're much better (though still overpriced).

bnoble

September 18th, 2011 at 12:17 PM ^

Probalby just an honest mistake. Most of the people working those stands are from random groups doing fundraisers for their organizations, and work that weekend only.  I'm surprised they get it right as often as they do.

Bando Calrissian

September 18th, 2011 at 8:07 PM ^

Michigan Stadium hot dogs just never stack up for me.  I've tasted around campus athletic venues, and for my money, the best hot dogs are at Cliff Keen.  Yost is second, Crisler third, and Michigan Stadium far behind that.  

I'll also join the chorus in saying prices across the board at the stadium are completely and totally out of whack.  Starting with the four dollar bottle of water.  You can buy a damn case of Absopure for that much on the outside.  Which, in the pre-total police state Michigan Stadium world, would last you and your better half for the entire season of home football games carrying in one bottle each.