It's Only Safe If You Get It From Us

Back when I was working at a football stadium, it always amazed me how much the mark-up was on drinks. And not just the alcoholic ones either: even though we got a little bit of a discount for buying such large quantities, everything went up in price the second you walked in the door. From a business stand-point I could understand it, because you have a truly captive audience. Ticket holders aren't allowed to come back in once they've left, so it is impossible to leave to get food anywhere else if they want to see the end of the game. With events lasting for several hours, people are going to get thirsty sooner or later, so stadiums can charge pretty much what they want (within reason) and people just have to accept it. They've got you - they know it and you know it.

But, that's also why I'm much more offended by the fact that you can no longer bring a drink into any place in the world. You've gouged me for the tickets and parking, and eventually you'll gouge me for food, drinks and merchandise, can't you let me save $4 to start the day by bringing a bottle of water from home? They're still going to win in the long run, can't they just let me have this one? It is not like they're afraid of me spilling my drink and ruining something: these arenas are more than willing to let me have a soda, I just have to buy it from them an additional 25% of what it would cost me at a store down the street. I actually think that makes it worse. If you just weren't allowed to have any kind of drinks in the area then it would make sense. But you can buy food and drinks the second you walk in the door, roughly 15 feet from the people who just made you throw out a perfectly good bottle of water for no good reason.

Now, these stadiums and arenas will tell you this 'no outside drink' policy is for safety's sake. "You never know what terrorists may be hiding in a bottle," they'll say. Yeah, well, that would be a lot easier to swallow if there were highly-trained security staff members walking around on high alert. A company hiring a team of expensive, mercenary bad-asses might lead me to believe they were truly concerned for my well-being. However, what they've actually got is a collection of out-of-shape guys and small girls wearing 'security' shirts, who only took the job because they want to see several concerts for free. They aren't even paying attention to what is going on and are much more concerned with getting a nice view than getting in the middle of a security breach. Something tells me if someone wants to cause a problem, they're going to be able to find a way, so why not let me just bring in a drink?

I know asking a place like a stadium or arena to give fans a break is probably a waste of time and space, because these places are just about the money, but I still want my displeasure on the record. Also, I want to offer a compromise: don't put the drink stands so close to the entrance. That way I don't have to be looking at a stand that is selling the very thing you are telling me is a security problem and making me get rid of, even though we both know that is a lie and you just want me to give you more money. Allow me to put it another way: if you're going to be a jerk, you don't have to be such a dick about it.