Inflation and shrinkflation at the ballpark
The concession stands need their cut like everyone else, I suppose.
I try not to get too much into the political at this outlet, but I remember last year telling you about the high cost of baseball so I think I’m staying within the foul lines on this one.
We all know prices have gone up, but overall a ballgame around these parts still costs about as much as a movie (and is likely more entertaining for 2 1/2 hours.) Just like in the theaters, certain showings (or game dates/times) are a little cheaper still - the matinee or early weekday showing at the movies is matched (at least locally) by various deals and promotions for the Shorebirds. However, I’m not the best expert on these because I get my season tickets each fall for the next season and pick out my dates once the promotions schedule comes out based on certain days of the week I prefer to go, attractions I want to see, or trinkets either my wife or I want, such as the Creed Willems bobblehead. (Speaking of that, they need to bring the cool caps back.)
Anyway, to set this up a bit, years ago when I did monoblogue I used to have a series of posts that came out a couple times a year called “the market basket.” It was in reaction to a bill the Maryland General Assembly passed that I swore up and down would affect prices at the grocery store, but as it turned out the series was a handy guide for me to look at inflation and shrinkflation way back in the era of Bush 43. (I think it lasted a few months into the Obama era as well.) To do the market basket, I tracked the prices of certain staple supermarket items of mine, using them to compare local stores, too. That’s where I learned what shrinkflation was because occasionally the items I purchased and used for comparison were smaller than before, but cost the same (once in awhile they were a bit less, but not on a per-ounce basis.)
Where this comes into play is in the fact I am a saver of e-mail, too. So when I saw how much beer would cost at the Shorebirds games this season for their Thirsty Thursday and Big Beer Friday promotions, I had to sate my thirst for curiosity. Sure, beer might go up a quarter one year and 50 cents the next, but this seemed excessive.
This year at Perdue Stadium the team is advertising $4.25 16-ounce beers on Thirsty Thursday and $7.50 24-ounce beers on Big Beer Friday. I got to thinking these were $3 and $6 not all that long ago, but I decided to dig deeper: I found an e-mail I received from my old ticket assistant for the opening week of 2019, which was a great year for the Shorebirds and a pretty good year for me, too. (We bought our house in Delaware that year.) Turns out quenching my thirst on Thirsty Thursday was a bargain back then at $2 for a 16-ounce beer and for my Big Beer Friday cravings - on the occasion I would go to those games - it indeed set me back $6 for a 32-ounce cup of goodness.
There’s also another factor at play here. Back in the day before Perdue Stadium became a cash-free facility, you would hand either $2 or $6 to the nice folks behind the counter and go on your merry way. Now, they charge your card an amount that includes the 9% sales tax Maryland places on alcohol, which means my beers will now be $4.64 and $8.18, respectively. Before, when cash was king, they probably didn’t bother to collect the sales tax on the brewskis or adjusted the price to suit the even amount. Now they say your beer is x amount but the gift card goes down that number plus 9 percent. (Thanks Martin O’Malley, you #&@*%!)
So on the first Thirsty Thursday of 2019, just five years ago to the day on Opening Night against their erstwhile SAL opponent Lakewood BlueClaws, I paid $2 cash for a 16 ounce beer. Tonight my gift card that I keep loaded for just such occasions will be charged $4.64, which is an increase of 232% in five years.
Adjusted for actual inflation and without tax, that beer should be $2.40! In essence, the price has doubled for the product.
The same goes for Big Beer Friday, which is also a victim of shrinkflation: 25% less product for 36.3% more money.
Adjusted for inflation and without tax, that beer should be 32 ounces and $7.20! In this case, the “packaging” shrunk while the price (sans tax) remained more or less in line.
To be honest, I’m sure there was some pressure from law enforcement or some other branch of government to move away from cheap beer at the games since it’s supposed to be a family environment and some people (*cough* college kids *cough*) can’t handle their Big Beer, or the plastic souvenir bat full of brew one can get for $20 or so. I have a limit I stick to, and as I noted in my post a year ago I like to have a slice of their pizza with my first one. They also stopped selling after the seventh inning, which is a policy that’s been in place for several years. I always “boooo!” that announcement.
But I was floored at the difference, and I have to think that we’re paying for a lot of other costs with our love of brew.
Until next time, remember you can Buy Me a Coffee since I have a page there. Or just come out to the Shorebirds game and buy me a beer.