Posts Tagged ‘stadium cup holder’

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Startling Info from ESPN on Stadium Food and Vendors.

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Before you go chomping down on that hotdog or taking a swig of cola from your stadium cup holder, you might want to consider the following. ESPN, the cable sports network has reviewed inspection reports of the health department for 107 stadiums in North America and also arenas at which many sporting events of major leagues were held and found some obnoxious things. As many as 30% of those venues had more than half of their beverage and food vendors receiving citations due to major violations of standards set for handling of food. The serious violations referred in those reports include serving food at temperatures that could encourage the growth of pathogens, cross contaminating the food by using the same equipment e.g. to cut both chicken and tomatoes, equipment not sufficient enough to maintain proper temperatures required to store food, bad hygiene including such instances as employees not washing hands after using restrooms and presence of rodents and insects in places where they could possibly contaminate the food or the place.

There hasn’t been any outbreak of an illness that is widespread and can be associated with a particular arena or sporting stadium’s food and beverage. This is at least as far as the documentation goes. However, according to the reports of ESPN, there have been instances where people have fallen ill due to food at a sporting arena. There are many difficulties however, in tracing the sources and finding out what exactly led them to falling ill especially when there are so many people from so many different parts of the city or the town. The other challenge in finding out if an illness or outbreak was indeed because by the food at a stadium is that many of the illnesses born out of food poisoning or contamination do not show up for some time after digestion and it might take more time before it breaks out making it all the more difficult to trace the source of the infection to the contaminated food eaten at a stadium or sporting arena.

In terms of food safety statistics, the M & T Stadium hosting Baltimore Ravens’ games is a safer bet with just 4% food vendors receiving citations compared to the FedEx field hosting the Redskins game where as many as 36% vendors have received citations. A Wizards or Capitals game at the Verizon center is the worst and you are better off having food elsewhere before you go, given that 100% vendors here have received citations. Henceforth, you might be safe than sorry about the food that you receive at stadiums, so bring a drink from home for your drink holder.

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Table Tennis Rubber for Beginners

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

Today we’re considering sports related info, one of which is the often left out table tennis (or ping pong that Forrest Gump was so fond of). Another break from cup holders, but remember, this is the place to be if considering a drink holder on the end of your stadium armrest

When starting out in a new sport, one of the things that people struggle the most over is what kind of equipment to buy when. There is a hesitancy to invest too much in a new sport, while also being concerned about wasting money on equipment that the player will too quickly outgrow. Not to mention the fear of spending too much money on sports equipment only to lose interest in the sport.

Luckily for people new to table tennis, there is not a lot of equipment to buy, and the equipment is not too expensive. Table tennis rubber can be bought inexpensively, and changed at any time. The glue used to apply the table tennis rubber is designed to be removed and the rubbers themselves are often put on and taken off by experienced players. Therefore there is really no problem with changing rubbers.

If you plan on competing early on in your training, it will be a good idea to check the rules of the tournaments you intend to join and make sure that the rubbers, cleaning materials, glues, table tennis racket, and other pieces of equipment are all acceptable and legal.

There are many different types of rubber available, but I can be a good idea to stick with a large well-known brand at first because there will be a lot of documentation about each type of rubber, and the comparisons that some makers provide can help you make a decision about your next upgrade. One common recommendation is Butterfly table tennis rubber. The brand is based in Japan, but one of the largest table tennis equipment companies in the world. Butterfly has a good name and all of their products are well documented and reviewed.

The real point of it all is to get some real rubber on your bat and get out and start playing. There will be plenty of time to buy new types of table tennis rubber as your playing style matures and changes. A very plain, general use rubber will be a great way to start out. The more types of rubber you experiment with, the better you will be at choosing a type of rubber to attach to your racket.

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Stadiums are changing to suit your cup holder needs.

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

Going to a stadium for a concert or game is something a lot of people enjoy, as there’s nothing like kicking back and listening to your favorite band or watching your best team with a cool beer in your drink holder. However, changes are taking place, both in the concessions and in the style of seating being offered. Some of which has become a natural and unnoticed way of enjoyment.

Hot dogs once again dominated fans favorite stadium fare. A classic reborn, hot dogs are what most people pick the first time around, but after awhile fans tend to want some variety. Sixty-three percent of fans listed hot dogs as the one ballpark food they could not live without.

Pizza, subs, and burgers this is what people think of when they consider concessions at special events. Not surprisingly, beverages, popcorn and hot dogs stand out as the favorite staples for sports and concerts. Pizza merchandisers, nacho chip warmers, and popcorn display cases allow concessions to remain fresh and ready for your enjoyment. It’s also surprising how efficiently and effectively vendors utilize their counter space, stream lining the patrons purchase.

More and more venues are beginning to include suites. These tend to range in price from $35,000 to $42,500, helping the management pull in a nice sum of cash per game even considering expenses. Most suite menus are selected ahead of time, and offer a “higher” quality of food. A first base package for $275 could include chips and dip, barbecued chicken and roasted corn on the cob. Suite holders may choose to smoke inside their suites, so selecting a suite might be the only alternative to heading outside if one smokes. Guests who fail to comply with the policies after appropriate warnings may be subject to ejection from the stadium, but inside the suite is considered a safe zone. Suites are now including two or three exterior row of seats, including cup holders.

Another large trend is open concourses throughout the stadium that allow continuous viewing of the action on the field while at concession stands. Further, hundreds of state-of-the-art high-definition video monitors placed at concession stands and in dining areas will carry the live broadcast of the game. Concessions are generally contracted to outside vendors, who are used to dealing with thousands of hungry fans on a continual basis. As the number of seats per venue grows, so does the demand for food and beverages, which is why these vendors are consistently increasing their serving capacity.

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