A lot has been talked about the food of stadiums but last* time I checked, there isn't a thread about it. Now I know this isn't strictly a thread about stadiums but there's a thread about marching bands here so it doesn't seem to matter.

Which stadiums have awesome food? Can people from around the world tell us about the grub that's served there? What's the best stadium for a good feed? What kind of stalls do stadiums have, and what kind of food do they serve (pics good here)? Food in stadiums varies a lot, even by sport within the same nation, see the US, so it's not a simple matter of going through the countries.

I'll start off and say that the two stadiums I frequent the most: the mcg and etihad stadium have lame food options. Mostly provided by a general food service provider, mostly overpriced chips, hotdogs, mini pizzas (dominos) burgers. Not great, the stuff outside the ground is often the same (dim sims, burgers, chips, potato cakes etc.). No-one would be happy to eat there, and are forced to because the company knows they have a captive audience. I can't find a pic on google which IMO says something.

Anyway, does anyone have better stories to tell?

* = today, a brief scan. If there is one, I apologise.

Target Field has the best that I have been to. Great local foods, like beer battered walleye, Porkchop on a stick, jucy lucys (cheesburgers withe the cheese on the inside), really good steak sandwiches. And probably bratwurst and polish sausages in sports. Most of the contracts for specialty items went to local businesses known for good fare. The Loon Cafe's Chilli, Manny's Steakhouse for steak sandwiches, Kramarczuyk's Deli for the brats, polish sausages ect. I went to a game a few weeks ago and the bratwurst I got was one of the best I've had anywhere.
And there are couple of impressive beer stands with more beers from Minnesota than I knew existed. There are also three restaurants within the stadium and three club buffet's that look quite good (though kind of expensive). I have been in the Metropolitan club, which is pretty neat, but was more interest in getting tipsy and watching the Twins take down the Whitesox in dramatic fashion than the food.

Food @ the new Giants Stadium

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-08/new-meadowlands-has-horrible-edibles-go-with-deli-food-buzz.html

Red Bull Arena food.

http://www.nj.com/homegarden/entertaining/index.ssf/2010/05/red_bull_arena_feeds_soccer_fa.html

New Yankee Stadium

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/616606
http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2009/04/first-look-at-the-new-yankees-stadium-food-nyc-bronx-concession-stands.html

Stadium food in the New Tivoli in Aachen, Germany...
Ok first and foremost and what's most important in soccer here in Germany - that's the beer of course!
And in Germany the quality of the beer in a stadium allways only depends on the clubs beer-sponsor. What brand that is can usually be seen from quite far away or on websites etc. so anyone knows what beer to expect there.

I'm lucky that my club unlike a few years ago currently has a very tasty beer sponsor from the region, the same one that sponsors the German national team by the way. So in that aspect we're top class. And on most matchdays regular (alcoholic) beer is served, only when there are critical matches, against lokal rivals for example, they serve non-alcoholic beer instead.

The next important thing of course is the bratwurst, the hotdog and the currywurst.
Those are all decent and pretty good, a bit on the expensive side but still halfwhat reasonably priced though. They're all decent but nothing special really, considering of course that sausages in Germany are usually better than in most other countries, especially in the US or UK, so those are decent by German standards.

Then next there is the food in the business area and the VIP catering of course. - I've never eaten there so I can't say much abou that, but the food there is supposed to be top class food, as can surely be expected for the prices that are being payed there.

Now besides all the food served on matchdays, we also have a fan-restaurant, or as its officially titled fanbar in the stadium. That bar is open daily from 11 am to 5 pm and on matchdays, for homegames and away games so fans can also meet and watch the club play on TV there.
The food there is really great and mostly cheap, so I love to go eat there for lunch quite regularly.
They serve really good upper class restaurant food, nicely decorated with great service for very cheap prices there. Especially the daily lunch menu is generally truely great.
Here's the current weekly menu translated into english via google (the weekdays on the weekly menu "Wochenkarte" are bit messed up in the translation somehow):
http://translate.google.de/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alemannia-aachen.de%2Ftivoli%2Fkloempchensklub%2F&sl=de&tl=en&hl=&ie=UTF-8

So overall I would say the new Tivoli has really good beer, decent snacks on matchdays and a really outstanding daily lunch menu for incredibly cheap prices in the stadiums fan-restaurant.

Only things I need at a stadium:

http://www.koeln.de/files/images/fc-fan_bier_ddp_336x500.jpg

http://m.rudolphs.eu/media/2007/coburger_bratwurst.jpg

http://www.derpunker.de/bilder/2005/050505_vatertag_low/050505_vatertag-03_l.jpg

food in stadiums... erm no.. only USA.. In USA the spectators watch shows (nfl, mlb) and no real sports (football) like the rest of the world.

firstly that is rubbish, NLF and MLB are awesome sports to watch, and if you ever get the chance get to at least one NHL game (its pyscho :P)

on food, Aussie stadiums are a disappointment

they have all done crap deals with catering mobs, who get a nice exclusivity and only care about profit

food is therefore really average if you are in the outer, except for the traditional meat pie we all love :)

on the beer side, its even worse.......for night games in the interests of the greater good they don't serve full strength beer, just that god awful mid strength stuff or light beer :ohno:

In the UK it's mostly crap and overpriced (£8 for a burger at Wembley that you could get for £2 in Burger King). Plus, alcohol was banned from football stadiums in the 1990's in an attempt to stop hooliganism. Unfortunately for some, it worked but, it does mean there is at least 1 pub near to every ground.

Still, it could be worse. My dad is an Arsenal supporter and used to watch them in the old days when you could get 62,000 into Highbury. He made the mistake of buying a burger there once and still claims to this day that it was made of dog meat!

Only things I need at a stadium:

http://www.koeln.de/files/images/fc-fan_bier_ddp_336x500.jpg

http://m.rudolphs.eu/media/2007/coburger_bratwurst.jpg

http://www.derpunker.de/bilder/2005/050505_vatertag_low/050505_vatertag-03_l.jpg
that looks great

:cheers:

http://www.ultimatesportsboards.com/forums/img/smilies/nomnom.gif

food in stadiums... erm no.. only USA.. In USA the spectators watch shows (nfl, mlb) and no real sports (football) like the rest of the world.
Parkhead (Celtic Park), Glasgow:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2145/2276067260_77f8f3c40d_b.jpg

firstly that is rubbish, NLF and MLB are awesome sports to watch, and if you ever get the chance get to at least one NHL game (its pyscho :P)

on food, Aussie stadiums are a disappointment

they have all done crap deals with catering mobs, who get a nice exclusivity and only care about profit

food is therefore really average if you are in the outer, except for the traditional meat pie we all love :)

on the beer side, its even worse.......for night games in the interests of the greater good they don't serve full strength beer, just that god awful mid strength stuff or light beer :ohno:

Ah yes Aussie food. If I recall (from past experience at Melbourne stadiums), you get charged well over Canteen prices for stadium food. So let's say you buy a pie, what, you gonna drown it in tomato sauce just to get your moneys worth? :P

Ah yes Aussie food. If I recall (from past experience at Melbourne stadiums), you get charged well over Canteen prices for stadium food. So let's say you buy a pie, what, you gonna drown it in tomato sauce just to get your moneys worth? :P

Pies are actually the best value (about $4.30)

a hot dog is nearly six bucks, a burger $8 (and its the type you microwave at the servo)

lets just say if you listen to the sports radio station in melbourne, its not uncommon to hear them bitching about the high prices and crap quality

I was in shock when I went to Germany (Nuremberg for the Toy Fair). Great sausages were just a couple of euro at the train station or the fair, and we would normally get half the quality and pay twice as much

I don't even bother buying food at major stadiums, I've been gouged enough just to get in. Minor league baseball is where it's at in the US, where they aren't afraid to take gambles on the menu. And I'm not referring to crazy things like the donut bacon cheeseburgers; one near us has the normal ballpark fare, plus pierogies, barbecue, sub sandwiches, picnics, etc

I think spotless catering does the job at the g and etihad. They're spotless and clean, they're also terrible. I often buy chips, baseball fans can buy all their food, German football fans buy theirs, and we buy... chips.

Not cheap too, $4.90 for a smallish thing of chips. For 8 bucks they throw in a few chicken strips, oooooooooooh, real classy that.

I think spotless catering does the job at the g and etihad. They're spotless and clean, they're also terrible. I often buy chips, baseball fans can buy all their food, German football fans buy theirs, and we buy... chips.

Not cheap too, $4.90 for a smallish thing of chips. For 8 bucks they throw in a few chicken strips, oooooooooooh, real classy that.

yep its Spotless, and they are a joke

I. Plus, alcohol was banned from football stadiums in the 1990's in an attempt to stop hooliganism.

you can't take it to your seat, but are there any grounds in the country where you still can't buy a beer? The ban was lifted at least a dozen years ago or so.


Still, it could be worse. My dad is an Arsenal supporter and used to watch them in the old days when you could get 62,000 into Highbury. He made the mistake of buying a burger there once and still claims to this day that it was made of dog meat!
The food was often terrible, but I think the odds of a burger van guy going out at night to try and catch stray dogs, then killing and butchering them for the meat, is rather less likely than him going down the cash & carry and getting the cheapest burgers going.

you can't take it to your seat, but are there any grounds in the country where you still can't buy a beer? The ban was lifted at least a dozen years ago or so.




Well, there are atleast 42 senior grounds in Scotland where it is still illegal to sell alcohol (although Firhill is now used by the Glasgow rugby team - so you can buy beer on a friday night, but not the following afternoon).

Infact the ban on 'Scotland Senior Rugby Matches, at Murrayfield" was only lifted 3 years ago (the most pointless and stupid law ever enforced - you could buy beer at Murrayfield for any other game - Club games, non-senior national teams, or even RWC matches so long as Scotland weren't involved. At the same time, if the Senior mens team played away from Murrayfield, it was legal to sell alcohol. But still, it helped cut football hooligansim after the 1980 cup final... :ohno:)



As for food - consuming anything other than pies or bovril at a Scottish Football ground is frowned upon ;)

Going to a game and not being able to get a beer does seem criminal.

The best food at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, is outside the stadium at the tailgate before each home game. One of the best tailgates in the NFL.

http://commissioneroftailgating.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/buffalo-wings.JPG

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ge9UvEdYFN0/SQN6KG_wptI/AAAAAAAABpQ/qtMlQ9fPbP0/s400/tail+gate+sausage.jpg

http://commissioneroftailgating.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/ketchup-and-mustard.JPG

http://www.thestencil.com/archives/images/billsman_roncooking.jpg

food in stadiums... erm no.. only USA.. In USA the spectators watch shows (nfl, mlb) and no real sports (football) like the rest of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivMMOAebV0s

Last I checked East Fife don't play in the US.