Food for thought: Dodgers opening all-you-can-eat right field pavilion
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack ... and throw in a dozen Dodger Dogs, too.
The Los Angeles Dodgers will give fans something to chew on next season: all-you-can eat seats.
The right-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium will be converted into the special section, giving around 3,000 fans as many hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn, nachos and sodas as they want.
Tickets will sell for $35 in advance and $40 on gameday, and some items at the concession stand aren't in play -- beer, ice cream and candy will be sold separately at regular prices.
"Instead of paying cash, fans ask for whatever they want, and they get it. There are going to be some self-service parts, buffet-style, as well," Dodgers executive vice president and chief operating officer Marty Greenspun said.
There will be some other limitations. Food booths open 90 minutes before games and close two hours after the first pitch.
And anybody who walks up and wants 100 hot dogs -- they're sold as Dodger Dogs, from $4.50 to the all-beef variety for $5.25 -- will have to curb their appetite.
"If a person goes up there and asks for four for his family, he won't be told no," Dodgers senior vice president of communications Camille Johnston said.
Greenspun said the team tested the all-you-can-eat concept three times late last season. "The response was overwhelmingly positive" and gave the Dodgers food for thought, he said.
A few other teams have had all-you-can-eat sections. "The St. Louis Cardinals have done it," Greenspun said. "It hasn't been anything of this size." In addition, he said, "the other ballparks charge a higher rate than this."
All-you-can-eat isn't exactly the most health-conscious concept these days, but as Greenspun put it: "We're offering a fan amenity. Fans can elect to choose it or not choose it. We are offering basic ballpark fare that most fans enjoy."
Tickets in left field, meanwhile, will be $10.
