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Fans’ Perspective: Build A Beer Garden And They Will Come

Posted July 2nd, 2008 at 9:00 AM by Jesse Squire

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Olympics

beer garden eugene oregon olympic track trials The organizers of the Olympic Trials also put together a festival in the grounds immediately outside Hayward Field. The various areas include dozens of sponsor tents, a food court, a big-top Nike store, athlete appearances, a track-oriented children’s activity area, a stage, and (most importantly) a makeshift outdoor sports bar, all of which include TV screens simulcasting the Hayward Field video board.

Attendance seems to be good; the only announced number I can find said upwards of 6,000 people came in on Friday who didn’t get into the stadium. This is one way to get around the limited seating of Hayward Field and the high ticket prices; you can sit and watch the meet in the sports bar for free.

The beer garden is a necessity for every summer outdoor festival, be it one dedicated to music, art, a “taste of the town”, a parish fund-raiser, or whatever. People who aren’t interested in whatever the festival is about still show up (in addition to all the people who do). Pro baseball at its various levels has actually taken advantage of this attitude, but they are able to build the festival inside their ballparks; besides the omnipresent beer and food sales, most parks have family areas and team shops.

Track & field should learn from this (and it appears Vin Lanana & company already did). Meets either pay no attention at all to the needs of spectators, or only to the serious fan. Baseball by contrast has all kinds of fans: some are there to half-watch the game, some not at all, some fill out a scorecard and keep pitch counts, and all are welcome.

Ask yourself this: how often have you seen food vendors walking through the stands at a track meet? I’ve only seen it in one place (Ohio Northern University) and from a financial perspective alone it seems like an enormous missed opportunity.