VenuesNow (10/26/20) Muret, Don

While COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance at Globe Life Field, home to the Texas Rangers, per capita spending appeared to have no limit as fans there to watch the 2020 World Series snapped up concessions. According to Casey Rapp, who is with the Rangers' concessions provider, attendees spent twice as much on food and drink and four times as much on merchandise as what the company usually sees during Rangers' games. In his opinion, "per caps" have benefited from pent-up demand, since most baseball fans were locked out of watching the regular season in person. The simple fact that it is the World Series also gooses spending, says consultant Chris Bigelow, noting that anything bearing the event logo has value. “Even if it's a hot dog wrapper, if it's got that logo on it, people want it,” he explains. “They'll buy anything to tell people, 'Hey, I was there.' Nobody thinks about the price.” Even Arlington, Texas, locals not attending the game have flocked to the gift shop for merchandise to show off their hometown pride as World Series host. Other factors boosting per caps include faster service due to reduced capacity and premium pricing on concessions. The new ballpark, just named to VenuesNow's list of 2020 All-Stars, also has embraced a card-only payment policy for the event; and research shows consumers tend to spend more when using plastic rather than cash.

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