FOS Explains: How the Atlanta Falcons Started the Cheap Stadium Food Movement

The Atlanta Falcons changed the sports concessions game–and now, other teams are following their lead.

In this week’s FOS Explains, Jason Hershman breaks down the Falcons’ reimagined business model and its impact in Atlanta and beyond:

Let’s go back to 2002.

The Falcons had new ownership under Arthur Blank, the NFL’s top QB Michael Vick, and reached the playoffs for the first time in four years.

But off the field wasn’t nearly as exciting as the action on it:

• Fans showed up late to games
• Food and beverage was ranked 5/10
• No control over the fan experience at the Georgia Dome

In 2017, the team opened its new $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium–and shifted their focus to concessions.

The team slashed prices of hot dogs from $8 to $2, soda from $5 to $2 (including free refills), and beer from $8 to $5 (for some local beers at the time). In total, prices came down nearly 50% from what they were at the Georgia Dome, the team’s home from 1992 to 2017. 

Tim Zulawski, president of AMB Sports and Entertainment, the Falcons’ umbrella company, told Front Office Sports the team sells more food in its stadium now prior to kickoff than it ever did

The NBA’s Hawks followed suit a year later, cutting prices ahead of their 2018–19 season. And other franchises joined the cheap concessions movement in 2024.

In September, Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club owner Ryan Smith announced that fans would have to pay only between $2 and $3 for five of the Delta Center’s most popular concessions

Most recently, Suns owner Mat Ishbia announced a value menu for fans that reduced prices for hot dogs, soda, chips, popcorn, and water–down to $2 each.

More on the Falcons’ price slashing here.

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