A total of 77,660 fans came to Mercedes-Benz Stadium to watch Ohio State’s 34-23 win over Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship Final on Monday. Unsurprisingly, the fans had a memorable time at the stadium, thanks to a genius idea by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, which was initially thought of as “crazy” by other team owners.
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Blank’s idea was simple. He introduced fan-first menu pricing at the stadium in 2017 after it was open to Falcons fans. This set of concessions allowed them to purchase pizza slices for $3, cheeseburgers for $5, pretzels for $2, and sodas for $2. Evidently, it remains one of the most appealing offer for any football fan.
As a result, noted analyst Joe Pompliano, in a detailed LinkedIn post, explained how this move by Blank helped the team amass more money through merchandise sales and tickets over the years.
“The idea was inspired by the concessions at Augusta National Golf Club, but while other owners thought Arthur Blank was crazy, the idea was actually genius. The Atlanta Falcons consistently rank first in the NFL’s annual internal survey for food quality, price-to-value ratio, speed of service, and variety. The Falcons say that the price decrease led to an 88% increase in merchandise sales in the first year,” Pompliano explained.
Additionally, Pompliano observed that Falcons fans are now spending 16% more on concessions than they did a few years ago, which is a positive sign. If that weren’t impressive enough, an average of 6,000 more fans enter the stadium two hours before each game.
These points indicate that the concessions have been well-received by NFL fans and have led to more foot traffic and revenue for the Falcons. Another indicator of its success is that several other professional teams are now emulating this model.
“From Ryan Smith and the Utah Jazz to Mat Ishbia and the Phoenix Suns, owners across North American professional sports are lowering concession prices for fans. The idea is that a better gameday experience keeps fans coming back and often leads to the eventual purchase of higher-margin items, like merchandise,” Pompliano concluded.
In 2002, Blank purchased the Atlanta Falcons for $545 million. At the time, the franchise value of the team was $407 million, according to Statista.com. Fast forward to August 2024, and the franchise value has risen to $5.2 billion—a phenomenal increase that would not have been possible without Blank’s fan-friendly initiatives.
Meanwhile, Blank and the Falcons will look to move on from the disappointment of an 8-9 season, which derailed their playoff hopes this year.
