World Cup tickets are expensive. Flights to North America are expensive. Hotel rooms in many places are expensive.
Then there’s the price of beer.
There are some fun – and yes, sometimes pricey – food and drink offerings at the venues playing host to the World Cup. A US$75 (RM311) caviar-topped tray of tater tots and a US$40 (RM166) empanada weighing in at 2.2kg for the daring or for sharing in Miami, Florida. Rib-eye tacos for US$8 (RM33) in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Something called a Twinkie cheeseburger that has nothing to do with dessert for US$22 (RM91) in Los Angeles, California.
Prices, in many cases, aren’t all that different from what fans in the United States would experience on L Sundays or college football Saturdays. But some international fans aren’t used to such pricing and are calling foul, especially over beer prices that can top US$20 (RM83).
“It’s unfair. It’s not right. It’s wrong,” said Thomas Schuller, an engineer from Germany in Toronto, Canada to watch his national team play over the weekend, as he held a beer that cost him CA$24.25 (RM71). “It’s three times the cost of what I pay in my country.”
But is that stopping him?
“Well, no,” Schuller acknowledged.
There is clearly some sticker shock among international visitors to this World Cup, especially when it comes to the concession prices. In Europe, it’s not uncommon for beers to be perhaps around €4 or €5 (RM18.90 or RM24).
There’s also no shortage of intrigue on the menu at the concession stands at stadiums across the US, Canada and Mexico.
“Never seen anything like it,” said Janine Arbetter, a fan from Austria, as she waited for a hot dog, chips and soda combo in Miami recently. The pre-tip price: US$19.35 (RM80.20), which included a discount for using Visa. “It’s a lot of food for a little snack.”
Some Argentina fans happily showed off their US$34 (RM141) lobster rolls from a match in Kansas City, Kansas on social media, but in Toronto, the brisket sandwich with chips and a bottle of soda for nearly CA$40 (RM117) had some online commenters lamenting it as “robbery”.
“It’s OK, more or less, for the World Cup,” German fan Daniel Feldmann said of the food prices while watching a match in Vancouver, Canada recently.
FIFA, the sport’s governing body and the tournament organiser, has very specific rules on just about everything related to the World Cup – and there are guidelines that concessionaires have to follow as well. But prices can vary by market, as do the food and drink offerings. And that means the experience in one city might look, or taste, nothing like what’s offered in another.
The “Fancy AF Tots” for US$75 (RM311) at Miami Stadium aren’t really tots at all – it’s three deep-fried hash brown patties, with caviar, creme fraiche and chives. (For those who just want the caviar, it’ll be US$70/RM290.) Southern California’s Twinkie cheeseburger is in fact a burger topped with a Texas Twinkie – a bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed with brisket and cream cheese.
But there’s also a slew of choices specific to a local market; for example, Vancouver offers short rib poutine (an iconic Canadian dish of fries loaded with beef gravy, pulled short rib and cheese curds) along with a maple bacon smokie (smoked sausage topped with bacon onion jam that features Canadian maple syrup).
And in Miami, the signature offerings include pan con lechon (a Cuban-style sandwich with pork, infused with citrus mojo sauce and served on a toasted full Cuban loaf) and “Empanada Mundial” (the handmade, chicken-and-cheese-stuffed dish named after the World Cup).
Both Vancouver and Miami have Sodexo Live as a food and beverage provider, and the typical game-day menus in both stadiums were revised a bit to accommodate a soccer crowd.
“We want it to feel like Miami when you’re here,” said Zach Williams, Sodexo Live’s vice president of operations at Miami Stadium. “Everything we do around the Miami Stadium, we want to make sure everybody understands that when they come here, they’re getting a Miami experience.”
In Mexico City, a beer could cost a day’s pay – literally. The daily minimum wage in Mexico City is just 315.04 pesos (RM74.70). Some beers at Mexico City Stadium were selling for between 299 and 310 pesos (RM70.90 and RM73.50) – about twice as much as fans would ordinarily pay in the same stadium when the World Cup isn’t in town.
But in Atlanta, Georgia where stadium operator Arthur Blank promised the low concession prices he’s championed for many years would hold for the World Cup, pizza slices were US$3 (RM12.40), 0.9 litre-sodas were US$4 (RM16.56), a cheeseburger was US$5 (RM20.70), chicken tenders with fries were US$6 (RM24.85) and beers could be had for as little as US$8 (RM33.10).
Jonathan Arango, a 33-year-old man from Greenville, South Carolina, was at a match in Atlanta with his wife, daughter and father.
“In total for what we got – three orders of tacos, a slice of pizza, two waters and a Coke – we spent like US$50 (RM207),” Arango said. “Compared to what we’ve paid at other events … it’s nice after you paid a lot for a ticket.”
And Schuller pointed out that even though the tournament does come around every four years, it still feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“The entire football world is having fun,” Schuller said, “…so cheers to that.” – AP
