Is a $1 Hot Dog at a Ballgame Better than Nothing?

Ordinarily, being a curmudgeon and a cynic when it comes to humanity, I would say to the baseball fans in Kansas City who are whining about their $1 hot dogs being unappetizing and tasteless, “What the hell did you expect for a dollar”?

But take a look at the comparison between an every day hot dog at Royals Stadium and the $1 variety.

The damn thing looks like it’s a holdover from last season.

Concession giant Aramark released a statement that claimed reassuringly that the hot dogs were safe to eat — as if that’s the issue everyone is up in arms about:

As the above tweet states, a company called Aramark manages concessions for the club. Aramark released a statement following the event, claiming their health inspector found no violations with the hot dogs.

“Customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us and we take all guest concerns seriously. During Friday night’s game, where we served 63,000 hot dogs, the Kansas City Health Department was onsite to inspect our buck night hot dog operations and found no violations. We are aware of the images posted to social media and are in the process of investigating and contacting those guests to get more information. As previously stated, we strive to ensure the food served at Kauffman Stadium is great tasting, of the highest quality and safe to eat.”

This is not the first time the Royals, and Aramark, have been involved in this type of situation. In November, a food safety manager for both the Royals and Chiefs told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” about the subpar food practices taking place in both stadiums.

The employee, Jon Costa, claims he reached out to Aramark a number of times before going public with the story. Costa was fired a few weeks ago, according to the KCTV5 report. 

Given the circumstances, and the fact that the club has been embroiled in similar controversy in the past, it’s tough to imagine much coming out of this. Aramark may investigate the situation, but it’s not as if the partnership between the company and the ball club will end.

Stadium food is so darned expensive because the cities take a cut as well. Aramark has concessions in all the major sports and at most stadiums in the US. They have little competition, although in recent years, some stadium management companies have brought in regional or local food operations to offer popular local favorites.

But the staples of ballpark eating — dog, beer, soda — are ridiculously expensive. An 8 oz beer goes for $6.50 at White Sox ballpark. A hot dog, $5.75. $3.95 for a small soda. Bring the wife, a couple of kids, and your wallet will be $50 lighter just from the food.

But does the ownership have a responsibility to serve good tasting food to the fans? You might say that if you pay a buck for a hot dog, you get what you pay for, but the problem is, a lot of other food served at regular prices is nearly inedible as well. “Soft” pretzels that will break your teeth, burned brats, stale buns — Aramark maximizes profits by making the absolute minimum effort necessary to deliver their products.

There’s not much value in a $1 hot dog that looks like it came out of the wrong end of the dog. But perhaps ballpark consumers have a right to expect more than what the Kansas City Royals and Aramark are giving them.