Being a season ticket holder for a professional sports franchise has its perks. You often get priority for playoff tickets, priority entrance access, and even get invited to special team-related events.
Even with all those perks, the San Francisco 49ers are taking the season-ticket experience to a new level with AYCE food and drink at concession stands, according to The Athletic.
The @49ers next year will package unlimited "free" food and non-alcoholic drinks with all season tickets, a first in pro sports. Ticket prices to rise on average 13 percent. My story: https://t.co/JPq5nHITFK
— daniel kaplan (@KaplanSportsBiz) October 21, 2019
While other stadiums, including Dodger Stadium have had AYCE sections, this is the first time a pro franchise has extended that type of offer to its season ticket holders.
Of course, alcoholic drinks are excluded, because no one is that generous, but other than that, the roughly 60,000 49ers season ticket holders at Levi Stadium will have unlimited access to food and beverages, starting in 2020.
However, the caveat is that season ticket prices will be increasing by 13%.
It's almost like the MoviePass business model, where they felt that moviegoers paid $10 a month for unlimited movie theater viewing. The company's thinking was that people wouldn't actually go to the movies that frequently and the cost would eventually even out. That didn't work out too well for MoviePass, but it doesn't seem like something that the 49ers are worried about, as team president Al Guido told The Athletic that "there's only so much" that a fan can actually eat.
Food has been a major focus for professional sports franchises, as menus have been severely upgraded with Instagram-worthy eats. In 2019, the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first franchise to team with Postmates, letting fans preorder their food for pickup at concession stands. Heck, the Atlanta Falcons even took a revolutionary approach, providing food that's actually, well, affordable.
If the currently undefeated 49ers team isn't reason enough to invest in their season tickets, maybe the free grub will be.
