$5 beer, $3 hot dogs proposed at GFL Memorial Gardens

City councillors will wet their whistles Monday on the idea of $5 beer at the Sault's premier sports and entertainment facility.

Brent Lamming, the city's director of community services, will ask councillors to approve introduction of $5 (tax included) 10-ounce beers at selected GFL Memorial Gardens concessions.

The least expensive brew currently offered at the Gardens is $5.53 (tax not included) for either a domestic bottle or 14-ounce draught.

If approved by City Council, the cheap beer will be available throughout the 2019-2020 Soo Greyhound hockey season, after which Lamming will report back on the effect of the new pricing on beverage sales.

City staff are also recommending a 'fan-friendly' price option of $3 for hot dogs, french fries or popcorn.

The Gardens posted record food and beverage sales last year of $1.15 million, compared to $882,000 in 2017.

Net profit was $291,835, way up over over the previous year's $186,145.

Why the big jump?

Lamming attributes the improvement to last season's long playoff run by Soo Greyhounds, as well as other factors including:

• five new bar locations and four new food and beverage stations
• addition of the Hot Dog House (foot-long hot dogs and sausage bar), Coffee House and Cotton Candy Station
• increased operating hours at the Molson Hockey House and expanded seating capacity
• GFL Memorial Gardens is opening an extra hour early before every 7 p.m. game, with doors opening at 5 p.m. for restaurant service. "The increased hours are contributing to fans coming to the downtown core earlier than game time," Lamming said
• addition of pre-pour for popular draft beverages five minutes before period end
• opening of the fully licensed Angelo Bumbacco Room downstairs between periods with projection big-screen television broadcasting all home games
• expanded restaurant seating areas on the east and south end of the venue
• food service also available on request for smaller events in the Angelo Bumbacco Room and multi-purpose rooms

Beer prices at the Gardens are more than competitive with many other Ontario Hockey League arenas.

A tallboy of beer there will cost you $7.96 before tax, compared to $8.41 in Guelph, $8.19 in Kitchener, $8.41 in both St. Catharines and Kingston, and $9.73 in Barrie. 

In Sudbury, where food concessions are run by Sudbury Wolves – not the city – a tallboy costs just $7.52.

As SooToday reported last month, City Council agreed to look into concession pricing at the urging of Ward 3 Coun. Matthew Shoemaker, who cited "a recent trend in major league sports... to implement fan-friendly pricing on the most popular menu items available at sporting events."

But Lamming says fan-friendly pricing is more commonly introduced by losing sports teams, less so by winners.

As an example, he mentions the $5 beer and other ballpark favourites offered this season by Toronto Blue Jays.

"The Jays were experiencing a drop in attendance, ticket sales being down 27 per cent for their 2018 year and they were looking at methods to drive traffic to the events," Lamming said in a report to Mayor Provenzano and City Council.

"In 2017, the Blue Jays averaged 39,554 fans per game. In 2018 they only brought in 28,733 fans for every home game. One method they were discussing was by lowering some costs such as beer pricing."

At GFL Memorial Gardens, the Hounds have attracted more than 4,000 paid fans per game for the past two years.

"In a comparison of food and beverage pricing," Lamming says, "the GFL Memorial Gardens is far from the highest price for concessions or beverages when compared to other OHL venues. Additionally we also offer 'combo pricing' and special family packages with concession discounts, something that is not a common offering."

Lamming will recommend tomorrow that the city do more to promote the GFL's concession combos, which are already quite fan-friendly.

For example, a small hot dog, fries and small soft drink are just $5.62 before tax.

Pizza and a pop are $4.25, and a large fries with medium soda cost $4:03.

In other news, Lamming will be asking later this year for new point-of-sale (POS) terminals to deal with long lineups at concerts.

"The system we are using is very old," he says.

"A new POS could not only be used at the GFL Memorial Gardens but also implemented across our concessions city-wide utilizing hand-held units at special events."

"This will lead to greater efficiency for billing and debit transactions. Patrons will not have to go to another line to use the debit machine and it will ensure a debit/credit machine at each purchase point."

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.