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As a fan, one of the things that bothers me about watching baseball games at any park, is that you can’t bring water into the park.  In my opinion, it is the ONE food item that should be allowed.  But, as per the rest of the sports industry, it is the norm here at Regency Furniture Stadium not to allow any outside food in the park, and is stated quite clearly on the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs website, not to mention on the back (albeit in TINY LITTLE PRINT) of their ticket stubs:

Can I Bring My Own Food And Drink Into The Ballpark?
Atlantic League rules prohibit any outside food or beverage in Regency Furniture Stadium.

So there isn’t really anything to argue with here.  But I feel that fans should be allowed to enter the stadium with water if they want to.  It’s really unfair to fans to make us pay $3 for a bottle of Aquafina, whereas in a vending machine I pay $1/$1.25.  I know it’s “all part of the experience,” but one thing that puts the cost of games out of reach is concessions.  As it is, the concession prices at Regency Furniture Stadium aren’t exactly cheap.  I don’t think they are out of this world expensive, but I do believe they could stand a price decrease.  If you want to reach out, and fill the seats, lower the cost of concessions, and allow water into the park.

In any case, this policy of not allowing outside food and beverages has recently caused a major snafu for at least one Atlantic League team:  The Bridgeport Bluefish.

As reported recently, a field trip to Harbor Yard park in Bridgeport, Connecticut ended up causing quite a ruckus as the 250 children were not allowed to bring their bag lunches and drinks into the park for a game.

In the article, two mothers interviewed were hot under the collar because they say their children spent a hot day at the ballpark with nothing to drink.

In response to questions about the incident, the Bluefish organization says,

“In the particular instance of East Haven Parks and Rec Department, we allowed them the opportunity to exit the ballpark and eat lunch in a shaded area, which is typically not allowed.”

As one parent said,

“Most of the kids didn’t bring money with them because parents like myself assumed that we gave them their water, their drinks, their lunch, they were all set for the day[...]“

Now, stadium officials did allow the children to exit the park to eat and drink their food, and return, as a concession.  But was that enough?

I understand that it’s about business with these baseball teams, first and foremost.  But I can tell you that there is no amount of good press one can glean from a bad situation like this.  In my opinion, the children SHOULD have been allowed entry into the park to watch the game WITH their food and drinks in tow.  It was the right thing to do. The only thing that can happen here, is that the children are put off, and don’t want to return.  I mean, if they aren’t having fun, why would they want to return? And, being future potential baseball fans, that’s the last thing the teams should want.

Sometimes, I think the managers of these small-town baseball clubs get it right, and understand how important public relations are.  Especially, when it comes to something as tenuous as the relationship a small-town ball club like Bridgeport or Southern Maryland has with their local community.  But, an incident like this only serves to show the community that they really aren’t interested in “fan relations.” It’s about the almighty dollar.

And if it comes down to a choice of spending my money somewhere like that, I’d choose to keep it.

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