Surprised that the food at Madison Square Garden is cheaper than the food at Wells Fargo (live, restaurants)

[Patmcpsu]

Are those $13 fries in Philly a bucket of Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries? I want to make sure we're doing an apples-to-apples comparison.

I never go to Wells Fargo, but when I'm at Citizens Bank Park, I find the Crab Fries to be an even worse value than the beer.

[thedirtypirate]

I like Chickies and Pete’s but I do think their quality has gone down and the price has gone up. The Wells Fargo center definitely sells regular fries that aren’t the crab fries.

All in all, I feel the renovations to the Wells Fargo Center are a bit underwhelming considering it cost $200m+. The concourses look more modern, everything has a fresh coat of paint, the scoreboard is world class now, but I still feel like they could have done a bit more in terms of upgrading the concessions. Lorenzos every couple hundred yards is fine, but I would have liked to see them create more spaces that you can drink and hang around a table and see the game at the same time.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by Patmcpsu

Are those $13 fries in Philly a bucket of Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries? I want to make sure we're doing an apples-to-apples comparison.

I never go to Wells Fargo, but when I'm at Citizens Bank Park, I find the Crab Fries to be an even worse value than the beer.

Totally agree. My kids really like them but we aren't buying them at the game for $13. Regardless, as you say that price shouldn't be used in this comparison. I'm pretty sure you get chicken fingers, fires, and a soda for less than $20 at Wells Fargo.

[moneymkt]

Originally Posted by Patmcpsu

Are those $13 fries in Philly a bucket of Chickie's and Pete's Crab Fries? I want to make sure we're doing an apples-to-apples comparison.

I never go to Wells Fargo, but when I'm at Citizens Bank Park, I find the Crab Fries to be an even worse value than the beer.

yes from chickies

[FrankInPhilly]

Food preferences aside for a minute ... holy crap! stuff's expensive! I looked at the Sixers' ticket prices - $70s and up. So if a family of 4 gets decent (say $90) seats, buys some food ($40 would be low-end from what I'm reading), and drives (parking is, what? $25), that's $425. If you have that money and you want to spend it that way, fine - I'm not going to tell you you could feed a village in Bangladesh for a week, save a rhino, etc. It's a discretionary expenditure. But still, yikes, that's a lot of money - you could buy a Chromebook, a modest camera, etc. for that amount. Maybe it's the difference between $ spent on experiences v. durable goods. Just kind of interesting (to me, at least) that a post about expensive fries led me down that path; and THAT is the beauty/rabbit-holeness of these forums :-)

[2e1m5a]

Originally Posted by FrankInPhilly

Food preferences aside for a minute ... holy crap! stuff's expensive! I looked at the Sixers' ticket prices - $70s and up. So if a family of 4 gets decent (say $90) seats, buys some food ($40 would be low-end from what I'm reading), and drives (parking is, what? $25), that's $425. If you have that money and you want to spend it that way, fine - I'm not going to tell you you could feed a village in Bangladesh for a week, save a rhino, etc. It's a discretionary expenditure. But still, yikes, that's a lot of money - you could buy a Chromebook, a modest camera, etc. for that amount. Maybe it's the difference between $ spent on experiences v. durable goods. Just kind of interesting (to me, at least) that a post about expensive fries led me down that path; and THAT is the beauty/rabbit-holeness of these forums :-)

Yeah, but who is buying "decent seats" as a family? I mean, besides the very wealthy. In basketball/hockey arenas the "worst" seats are not drastically different than most seats, unless we are talking courtside or a few rows back.


The cheapest tickets are $23 for a Sixers game with many seats in the $25-$38 range which seems pretty reasonable to me considering something like movie tickets are like $18+ now, which is even more absurd IMO with Netflix and the plethora of other online options.


Growing up in my large family, we hardly ever bought food at the stadium/arena unless it was $1 dog night and we almost always took public transit to the games. Today I might buy 1 beer but mostly I don't because it just isn't worth the price to me. I'll also park for free in FDR Park if I don't take the subway. I did grab some crab fries a few nights ago at the Sixers game but was pretty disappointed ---$13.00 and they just came out the fryer it seemed but were still pretty lukewarm and a little soggy.


I'm not sure how much normal fries would be---I'd guess $9.00.

[Patmcpsu]

My point about the Crab Fries is, not only are you paying for the novelty of them, but it comes a big bucket that should be split 2-3 ways. Compare that to the pictures of fries at Madison Square Garden, and you'll see it's not an apples-to-apples comparison.

I would still prefer to have the cost (and calories) of a 24oz can of premium beer for $14, but that's just me.

[bursitis]

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

The cheapest tickets are $23 for a Sixers game with many seats in the $25-$38 range which seems pretty reasonable to me considering something like movie tickets are like $18+ now, which is even more absurd IMO with Netflix and the plethora of other online options.

We rented Joker last Friday night right from the TV for $5.99 and the wife brought home $20 worth of sushi from IGA.


No driving, looking for a seat or having to deal with inconsiderate people.


The only theaters I see us going to in the future are the Ritz' downtown (the Ritz Bourse is closing, btw) and the Woodhaven (but only early shows).


I won't pay to see a meaningless hockey or basketball game, but we'll go to at least one Saturday night Phillies game and sit in the Hall of Fame Club.


The prices for concessions are obscene.

[FindingZen]

Originally Posted by bursitis

We rented Joker last Friday night right from the TV for $5.99 and the wife brought home $20 worth of sushi from IGA.


No driving, looking for a seat or having to deal with inconsiderate people.


The only theaters I see us going to in the future are the Ritz' downtown (the Ritz Bourse is closing, btw) and the Woodhaven (but only early shows).


I won't pay to see a meaningless hockey or basketball game, but we'll go to at least one Saturday night Phillies game and sit in the Hall of Fame Club.


The prices for concessions are obscene.

I've long felt that most movies - save the occasional action blockbuster - are viewed just as well at home. I think "Joker" would be right on the line for me.

Dine-in movie theaters are big in the Dallas-Fort Worth area; I see they're just starting to arrive here. If I'm going to be paying a little more for food, I'd rather have a full meal than spend "$20" on soda and a snack.

While the best sports seat in the house for me is my sofa, there's something to be said for enjoying the energy of the crowd. One would seem to lose some of that energy in club seats, upscale amenities notwithstanding.

[bursitis]

Originally Posted by FindingZen

While the best sports seat in the house for me is my sofa, there's something to be said for enjoying the energy of the crowd. One would seem to lose some of that energy in club seats, upscale amenities notwithstanding.

I'm not expecting much energy to be generated by the Phillies this season.


BUT, if they do, I'll be at a few games in the 'regular' seats to enjoy it.


A lively bar works for me, too.


Penn State football games are fun at Bar-Ly.