The percentage of vendors at New Jersey and New York stadiums violating the health requirements varied widely in 2009. Violations were cited from 6% of vendors at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, but nearly 61% of vendors at Madison Square Garden. Inspectors found lack of proper sanitization in many areas, food contamination with mouse excreta or others, lack of heat maintenance in the case of foods like hot dogs, grilled chicken, etc, partially grilled beef burgers with unsafe temperatures, and many other violations.

The other arenas that were found to have such negative types of food and beverage vendors include Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, old Giants Stadium, and Izod Center in East Rutherford, N. J. The health reports from various venues from different states differed greatly in the OTL report. Owing to these violations, there is an increased risk for the occurrence of foodborne illnesses at ballparks. One of the vendors explains that the pressure to feed his clients faster has been the reason for his colleagues to sacrifice sanitary standards and serve food in a timely fashion.

Though there are no reports or documents that support the outbreak of foodborne illnesses at a professional sports stadium, OTL report states that several individuals claim to have developed an ailment after consuming the ballpark food, but let’s say it couldn’t be drawn to a conclusion that it came from the food in their cup holder.

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.