Simple on the food... Ask if they serve kosher food and drinks... Then walk in with your own. or Vegetarian, or anything that you know they will not specialise in.

I've always been able to bring food in without incident, as long as it wasn't a glass bottle

>> We know, you're not supposed to bring in outside food or drinks

In Philadelphia, the Phillies allow you to bring in food (supposed to be wrapped in clear plastic) and sealed non-alcholic beverages for ballgames at Citizens Bank Park. This can save you considerable cash. Still got to shell out for the beers, but at least they have a large selection of various regional microbrews as well as the usual suspects.

We always bring snacks, water (oh, what these venues charge for freakin' water should be a crime!), beverages for the kids, sometimes sandwiches/hoagies, etc.

I think the Eagles allow you to bring in food for games at Lincoln Financial Field as well, but I'm not certain. So many people tailgate beforehand, it's probably not as common.

@lutton: Ohh... good to know that for Phillies games.

and don't forget these convenient ways to save on alcohol purchases!

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@edwardso: It all depends on the ball park. Each have different rules. Some allow drinks and food, others only food and water, and still others nothing at all. When in doubt, check the stadiums website for their rules. Security has made me get rid of things that just barely broke a rule.

With the ball parks that allow water (but no other drink). Bring a bottle of water and fill a plastic bag with your favorite drink powder. Then once inside you can open the sealed water bottle and mix it together.

I gave up on sports several years ago. If I want to watch scumbmag greedy bastards in person, I can go watch politicians in action. It is free.

hot dogs I make at home just don't compare to those at the ballpark. I always get one

Minor league and summer league sports. :) About 1/3 the cost of attending the major league game, for a family of 3.

Yeh, I agree with the other commenters above. There are a good amount of stadiums now that will allow you to bring in outside food. I have been to Yankee Stadium and Giants Stadium recently and both allow you to bring in food and drinks(in plastic containers). You just have to have all your stuff in a clear plastic bag, which they also have near the gates most times. I definitely save alot of money this way.

@howman: Citizens Bank Park (Phillies) has vegetarian options, including Veggie dogs and veggie burgers.

@Etoiles: +1. Especially minor or Independent league baseball. They seem to be playing for fun.

How about another tip: support your local minor league team with your ticket-buying dollars, rather than shell out major $$$ for top-tier league games? Some areas have both minor- and major-league teams (the one that first comes to mind is Atlanta for hockey; NHL Thrashers, ECHL Gladiators).

Let's check TickeMaster
- Thrashers: $10-$300, with $10 for nosebleed seats, the next seat price is $32.
- Gladiators: $10-$250, with all but the most expensive ($250) seats at $22 or under.

So... for the price of one seat in the second tier at a Thrashers game, I could sit in the second row on the glass, probably on the blue line at a Gladiators game. Heck, for the cost of a decent seat in a Thrashers game, I could bring a friend to the same seats in a Gladiators game!

Ditto the cost of season tickets; many local minor league teams have great ticket deals for season tickets (eg, my local AF2 team sells blocks of 4 seats for $200; that's 32 person-games -- 8 games, 4 seats -- for a per-person price of $6.25 a seat. Oh, and you get a 10% discount on merchandise and parking as a season ticketholder).

@James Borders: Thank you, captain miss the point.

@edwardso: It depends on the team. The Texas Rangers will allow food / drinks / coolers into the ballpark (no glass). Pretty sure the Cowboys won't. Screw you, Jerry!

Don't forget:

Mr Pibb and Red Vines equals CRAZY DELICIOUS!

@Addicted To Chocohol: I prefer to drink my beer through them

@edwardso:

It's all in your mind.

Some places aren't exactly backpack friendly.

From the Boston Garden's website:

Guests are also reminded that bags, backpacks, luggage, coolers, parcels, briefcases and like articles will be strictly prohibited from the facility. All guests will be subject to search, at TD Banknorth Garden's discretion, of their person and/or possessions (including women's handbags of normal size that may be allowed entry after such search). Patrons with prohibited articles will be turned away at the entrances and no storage or "check area" will be provided for such items. Enforcement will be without exceptions.

Prohibited Items

ALL ITEMS brought into the arena are subject to inspection. For safety reasons the following list of items are not permitted in the arena:
Food or beverages
Bags or briefcases
Video cameras or recording devices of any kind
Laser pointers or similar items
Weapons
Alcoholic beverages, drugs or other illegal substances
No Re-Entry/No Pass Outs

You can't even swing by after work if you are carrying a bag (though the local bars will bag check). I guess al-Qaeda has something against the Bruins.

Here are my tips:

1) Check for tickets on Craigslist, you can usually get some season ticket holders tickets there for a good price.

2) Go to Wal-Mart, K-mart, Walgreens before the game and let your kids pick out a team shirt, cap, even a jersey to wear to the game (usually 80% less then what you pay at the park)

3) Take public transportation to the game. A family of 4 can ride the bus/subway to the game usually for $6--and skip the hassles of parking, traffic, and usually $15-20 parking fee.

4) Tell the kids then can have 1 thing from the passing vendors (Hot Dogs, Popcorn, Sno-Cones) etc in the Third Inning, or Second Quarter, or whatever. It makes them see all the things they can order, and will stop the contant "Can I get one of those."

Not a really helpful list when one out of four choices is "just watch the game at home!" Oh yeah!! Why didn't I think of that???

And seriously, I can't think of any other way to ruin a baseball game than a bagged lunch. 50% of being at the game is hot dogs and beer. If you're spending $50 on a ticket, you may as well enjoy it.

@lutton: The Orioles also let you bring in sealed drinks, and there are vendors lining all the sidewalks on the way in, selling them for $1. $1 is not cheap but it is way cheaper than inside, and means you don't have to lug them around letting them get warm until the game starts.

Not to mention, it's really appetizing pulling that lunch out of a bag of disgusting, smelly clothes.

@lutton: At Citizen's Bank Park, in the concessions behind third base there is a hotdog stand for "kids" that sells $1 hotdogs.

Every game.

5. Quit wasting money on over priced major league sports.

I lost interest when they all started making these multi-million dollar salaries. I have no interest in supporting what major league sports has turned into.

If you want a cheap way to get into any event see if your company has a box at the arena or stadium. Then try to score passes to the box instead of buying tickets. If your lucky it is one of those events that the company caters in food. Plus really good box suites have their own bathroom and some have their own staffed bar.

I work on TV Crews at stadiums all the time and we actually have been forbidden from a few places from bringing in our lunch into the building with us at a few places. Their claim is that the building food inspector cannot (and will not) inspect your sack lunch or pizzas you order from out of house for the TV crew and claim that if you get sick from food brought in from out of house that somehow they are liable since you ate it on their (in most cases) private property. Of course if you let in house catering order the pizzas from out of house, the food inspector looks at it and then you get a bill for $400 for 4 pizzas.

see where this is going folks?

Go to the minor leagues. It is fun and cheap. Plus you get to see the majors before they become majors.

@edwardso: I agree. Not sure why, but the hotdogs always taste better at the stadium. Maybe it's the extra ecoli, who knows? ;)

Our family goes to Baysox games instead of Orioles games to save money.
The games are more exciting because the action is RIGHT THERE (for 10 bucks, i might add) and the food is sooo much cheaper.
Can feed the whole family for 20 bucks at Baysox -- that won't buy two beers at Camden Yards or M&T.

As long as NASCAR doesn't go the way of other sports (which the fans will be the reason why they do it), people are allowed to bring in their own food/beverages.

Per person: the cooler must be about the size of a case of beer. No more than a twelve-pack of sealed, non-glass beverages. Sandwiches must be wrapped in clear plastic.

@K-Bo: you can get water, nuts, burritos etc outside of Coors Field. I usually get a few things then get a foot long dog and beer inside

@bohemian: Heh, watching sports is so boring. I'd rather play a pick up game of ANYTHING than pay to watch other people play it! Come on people, get up from your lazy butts and play sports yourself instead of watching other people do it!

Besides, being a cheap introvert saves money. Going out to a movie is the same deal. For two, a movie costs $25 or more around here considering travel, tickets, and maybe one snack. I'd much rather stay home and pay $2 to watch a movie.

Smaller leagues or quirkier sports are also a good way to avoid the chomp out of Pro Sports.

@howman: I think I am missing the point of how claiming
the stadium does not make the food the way I like = I can break the rules and bring outside food in?
Wanna help me out there Captain?

Dirty, stinky socks on top of my halftime hoagie? Not for me.

I'm a season-ticket holder for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Pitt Panthers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pirates are very cool about bringing food in. They have a limit to the size of the bags you can carry but each person can have one.
The Steelers are hypocritical when it comes to things. They say you can't carry things in because it's unsafe. Yet, they sell the exact same items.
Pitt advertises the same policies because it's a Heinz Field rule", but if you carry food in they really don't mind at all.

So much of the fun is eating there and drinking $8 beer. And when my wife begs me to go to a baseball game, the only fun is eating the food and drinking the beer (conversely for her when I drag her to the Red Wings).

Using MLB as an example:

1. Wait until the game is an inning or two in and the sidewalk scalpers will be desperate to get something (usually 1/2 to 1/4 value) for their soon to be worthless tickets.

2. If your stadium allows you to bring food in, take advantage of the hot dog vendors on the street (if available). In Cleveland, street dogs cost $1.25; In the stadium, a minimum of $3.75. Guess what? They're the same exact hot dog and the street dogs aren't nearly as shriveled up as the overpriced dogs inside.

3. A lot of beer companies do make plastic bottles and somebody wearing jeans can [ahem] hypothetically [ahem] fit a six bottles into their waist if they're wearing a belt. The metal detector won't pick these up and then once you're inside, you can buy a coffee just for the cup (I've been told by other people [cough] that it's best to use the restroom every time you want to refill your cup).

4. Or you can skip the game altogether and frequent your local watering hole, where you'll likely encounter game day drink and food specials and an environment not too far off from what you would encounter inside the stadium.

@Clevelander: Ditto on #4, I've watched monday night football at Buffalo Wild Wings a few nights. Food was alot cheaper and of higher quality.

@edwardso: Ballpark dogs are often beef dogs. That might be the difference.

But I agree. They're still metaphysically tastier at the ballpark. :D

@corkdork: And lots of minor-league baseball parks have that grassy seating area behind the outfield where your kids can run off all their steam while you lounge on the grass and watch the game.

@Eyebrows McGee: I like them foot long too. If I'm eating a hot dog I might as well go ALL THE WAY

@greggen: The rule against outside food is to reduce competition for the inside food. If you can't consume the food inside, it's really no competition. Most places would rather accommodate you than lose all your business.

You try eating at a stadium/movie theater/theme park with food allergies or stringent religious dietary requirements. Ask the management if they can accommodate that, or allow you to bring your own.

Oh, and for the record, Kosher isn't a "way I like it" kind of thing.

@RandomHookup: I'd like to get nitpicky with that policy...

ALL ITEMS brought into the arena are subject to inspection. For safety reasons the following list of items are not permitted in the arena:
Food or beverages

To my understanding, that means food or beverages, regardless of who might bring them into the arena, are not permitted. It would be interesting to point that out to the management.

As someone who manages a food&bev operation at a sporting venue, let me clue you in on what these little "tips" will result in: revenue will drop and, ultimately, venues will close.

Concessions is one of few revenue streams that the venue gets to keep 100% of the profits from. Ticket and merch money gets split with, usually with talent and promoters taking the lion's share. So, the money you spend on hot dogs and beer and pretzels may seem like a lot, but remember that this money is what's keeping the venue afloat in most cased. You want to eat a big dinner before you come? Fine. But if you're smuggling food in, that's no different than recording the show and selling bootleg tapes. You're breaking rules that have been established for a reason and it's theft, pure and simple. Rationalize it if you want, but it's bullpoop.

@Cupajo: And the cute little 'laundry in a backpack' trick? Most venues won't allow bags inside anymore. I hope the author of this column tries that tactic, stands in like for an hour or two with his laundry, and then gets told he has to take his bag back to his car before he can come in. That would be sweet fucking justice.

Douchebag

@howman: Interesting. Here's the secret I picked up working security at college football and basketball games.

"Medical reasons."

We weren't allowed to question people if they said it was for medical reasons. We also were supposed to let in snacks for small children (toddlers) but it was an incredibly child friendly school so that may not work everywhere.

@Xerloq: Exactly. For whatever reason you choose to bring your own meals to a closed area, if they can not, or will not, provide suitable options, you should be able to bring your own... Granted this does fall apart on aeroplanes with caned drinks, but sporting event... or worst of all trade shows...

I was just at the Auto Show and they had the nerve to charge 4.19 for a slice... or should I say a sliver of pizza... Granted they have high overhead costs, but who's fault is that...

30 years ago I learned the kosher thing from my grandmother, with the k-mart .99c bag o popcorn and a coke when we went to the movies. It didn't matter to her that it wasn't kosher either way, what mattered was she paid for the movie not the privilege of over priced food.

@Plates: Obviously you have never met a professional hockey player. I will gladly support my local team and ownership.

@bohemian: Do you have a problem buying a movie ticket for some high priced actor that could not find your town on a map if they told him where it was. At least my professional sports team spends time in the community to raise funds for very worthy causes.