Is this the NBA thread?

 

Gausman, Jones ejected as Red Sox top O's
Hours after Major League Baseball held a conference call to tell the Red Sox and Orioles to stop their festering feud, Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman was ejected in the second inning for hitting a batter and Boston went on to win 4-2 Wednesday night.

 

Astros stay hot, beat Rangers again
Marwin Gonzalez homered for the fourth time in his last three games and Carlos Correa had four hits, helping the Houston Astros beat the Texas Rangers 10-1 on Wednesday night.

 

Pinch hits lead Cubs to comeback win over Phillies
Pinch hitters Willson Contreras and Matt Szczur had consecutive two-out RBIs in the sixth inning, helping the Chicago Cubs edge the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Wednesday night.

 

Beer prices have sports fans' heads spinning
Staggering concession costs keep rising, but fans keep paying

Few things go together as well as a baseball game and an ice-cold beer. But as sports fans across North America know, that drink doesn't come cheap.

The cost of a beer at a Toronto Blue Jays game is among the highest in baseball. Take a 473-millilitre "tall" can that would retail for anywhere between $2.50 and $3.50 at your local Beer Store. The same beer at a Blue Jays game will cost you upward of $12, depending on the brand you choose. If you do the math, that represents about a 400 per cent markup from the retail price.

That kind of markup is common for concessions at sports stadiums and arenas. We all know a bag of peanuts is no bargain at $6 or $7. You don't need to be a shrewd consumer to know that you could buy many hot dogs at the supermarket for the cost of a single one at a game.

So why do fans fork over hundreds of millions of dollars every year for overpriced concessions?

And how do teams find a sweet spot, where the inflated price they are charging is still palatable to their fans?

Put another way, how did the Blue Jays decide fans would pay more than $12 for a beer?

Part of the game
Scott Francis helps teams make these kinds of decisions. He's a consultant at Florida-based Strategic Pricing Solutions.

"People in [a pro team's] front office have theories about how far is too far, but they really don't know until they introduce those prices and find out," he says. "So teams will monitor a price over the course of a season, see how the sales go, and if they find they are selling as many or more than before, they may hike it again, typically a small increase like 50 cents or a dollar, always gauging what the reaction is."

The Blue Jays declined to provide information on how they settled on their beer prices.

Vijay Setlur, a sports marketing instructor at York University's Schulich School of Business, says consumers have grown accustomed to paying more for concessions in certain settings.

"If these kinds of prices were only in sports stadiums, it would really raise people's ire, but they see it elsewhere, at concerts, at movies theatres."

For some fans, a beer is such an integral part of enjoying a baseball game that the inflated cost is justified.


'That'll be $13, please.' (Rob Carr/Getty Images)

"They know it's a substantially higher price than they would pay in a liquor store or a grocery store," Francis says. "The bigger thing is that they are at this venue for the experience of seeing the game, and a part of that experience is enjoying something to drink."

Falcons give fans a break
That doesn't mean fans will simply pay anything. Teams need to temper exorbitant concession prices by offering fans options.

In Toronto, fans are allowed to bring in food and water. For years, this wasn't the case, and if fans wanted to eat they had to purchase their food inside the stadium. Today in Toronto, nobody is being forced to buy anything other than alcohol, Setlur points out.

"That's why you haven't seen that consumer backlash. As long as fans know they have a choice, they are fine."

Still, in survey after survey, high concession prices top the list of fan grievances.

One NFL team is responding in a way that makes it unique on the modern sports landscape. In its new stadium, slated to open this season, the Atlanta Falcons will offer fans what they are calling "fan first" pricing. Hot dogs, pop and water will each cost $2. A 355-millilitre beer is $5. Fries and nachos are $3.

"We took the traditional food and beverage model and threw it out of the window," Falcons owner Arthur Blank told reporters. "And I think what you will see is variety and value and pricing that will make it easy for a family of two or four or six to come to the stadium and have a great day and actually be able to eat here. And not have to plan to eat before or after because everything is so expensive."

The breaking point?
Sure, it's likely the Falcons will make up for the lost revenue elsewhere, possibly through increases to parking, tickets or merchandise, but the approach is refreshing.

Just don't expect an avalanche of teams to follow. For many, the concessions cash cow is simply too dependable a revenue stream to be tinkered with.

Instead, Setlur says, teams like the Blue Jays will continue to push and probe the limits of what fans will pay for food and drink.

"The breaking point is if a boycott begins, and that I don't see happening any time soon," Setlur says. "If there was a mass protest of beer prices, then they would know they have hit the ceiling.

"But at this point they could probably raise it even higher to test what that threshold is."

 

Mets suspend Harvey for three games


The New York Mets have suspended starter Matt Harvey for three games for violating club rules, general manager Sandy Alderson announced on Sunday. The 28-year-old is suspended without pay and was sent home from Citi Field ahead of his scheduled start on Sunday versus the Miami Marlins.

 

Bundy earns fifth victory as Orioles top White Sox
Dylan Bundy pitched six effective innings to earn his fourth straight victory, Trey Mancini homered and drove in three runs, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 6-5 on Saturday night.

Porcello snaps skid, Red Sox rout Twins
Rick Porcello pitched seven sharp innings and got some rare run support to win his first start since opening day, and Chris Young homered twice to lead the Boston Red Sox over the Minnesota Twins 11-1 on Saturday.

Zimmerman leads red-hot Nationals past Phillies
Ryan Zimmerman homered, drove in three runs and led the Washington Nationals to a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night.

Mariners use big inning to rally past Rangers
Danny Valencia drove in two during Seattle's seven-run seventh inning and the Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 8-2 on Saturday night.

 

Some nice looking averages so far from a few of the hitting leaders after the first 30(ish) games of the season ...

 

Stroman hits first HR; Jays beat Braves


Marcus Stroman threw 5 2/3 strong innings and hit the second homer by a pitcher in Blue Jays history to lead Toronto over Julio Teheran and the Atlanta Braves 9-0 on Thursday night.

 

The heat of the moment and a "quick pitch" got the better of Pillar and he is truly remorseful for his outburst and will take his lumps unquestioned ...


Jays suspend Pillar two games for slur


Toronto Blue Jays centre fielder Kevin Pillar has been suspended two games for using a homophobic slur during the Jays' loss to the Atlanta Braves Wednesday night.






Braves plunk Bautista after bat flip
The Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays managed to keep their emotions in check in the fourth and final game of a heated series on Thursday night. However, though the incident didn't lead to the benches clearing, the Braves made sure to respond to Jose Bautista's Wednesday night bat flip.

 

A's spoil Velazquez's BoSox debut with big victory
Jed Lowrie and Khris Davis hit first-inning homers to spoil Hector Velazquez's major league debut and the Oakland Athletics beat the Boston Red Sox 8-3 on Thursday night.

Duffy dominates as Royals top Yankees
Danny Duffy tossed seven innings of three-hit ball, Mike Moustakas hit a three-run homer and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 5-1 on Thursday night to avoid a three-game sweep.

 

Rangers win MLB-best ninth straight game


Ryan Rua hit a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning and the Texas Rangers stretched their MLB-best winning streak to nine games with an 8-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

 

Baez hits grand slam, Cubs beat Reds
Javier Baez hit a grand slam, Kris Bryant homered and the Chicago Cubs beat the Cincinnati Reds 9-5 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep.

Turner injures hamstring in Dodgers win vs. Marlins
Justin Turner left in the seventh inning after injuring his right hamstring, curbing the celebration for the Los Angeles Dodgers after a 7-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on Thursday night.

 

The Stroman going "yard" was pretty cool but I was yelling at my computer "don't fuck up your arm/hand celebrating when you touch home plate". It is always scary when emotions get the better of players hitting a home run and for a pitcher to do it is rare but their arm is their livelihood and a snap freak accident can end a career with an injury ...

 

Jays won their 5th straight today with a win over the Rangers I believe.

Scores and standing to follow shortly.

 

Pujols hits 600th career homer; ninth to join club
Albert Pujols has hit his 600th career homer, becoming the ninth player in major league history to reach the mark with a grand slam.

Volquez throws no-hitter against D-Backs
Edinson Volquez has thrown a no-hitter as the Miami Marlins defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0.

 

Houston is doing well this year.