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Which sports stadiums offer the best food for fans?
Beyond betting and the watching experience, we've reviewed all stadiums in the Premier League, NFL, NBA, and NHL and ranked each according to various factors, including attendance, food, and drink.
When attending live sports, the atmosphere and excitement are incredibly important—but they’re not the only things that contribute to a great day out. In fact, for many fans, the food options and culinary experience are just as crucial! With this in mind, we wanted to uncover which major league sports venues offer the best value and highest quality food and drinks for attending supporters.
The best foodie stadiums
Comparing all fanbases across the English Premier League, NFL, NBA, and NHL, we’ve ranked and revealed which teams and stadiums offer the best experience for foodies attending games – reviewing factors such as the cost of a hotdog, price of beer, rate of concession stands, and the overall review rating.
Premier League
Looking at the English Premier League, Southampton lead the way for foodie fans, with St Mary’s scoring 72 across our index. This is helped by the south coast stadium charging supporters an affordable £8.70 for a burger and beer – only Ipswich Town are cheaper (£7.50).
Speaking of which; Ipswich earn a complete score of 67.4, placing second on our index of the best foodie arenas – largely thanks to offering the league’s second-cheapest beer (£3.50). Next up, Leicester and Aston Villa rank third (63.3) and fourth (42.3), respectively, ahead of Brentford (42) - who, incidentally, are the only London club to crack the top ten.
The other end of the table is dominated by the traditional big six, with Arsenal (12.8), Manchester City (25), Chelsea (26), Manchester United (28.2), and Tottenham Hotspur (30.3) placing 20th – 16th, respectively. Liverpool, the remaining ‘big six’ team, place 12th with a score of 32.2. Curiously, though, despite their low overall ranking, Tottenham actually have the league’s strongest food-quality rating (4.1 stars).
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NFL
Taking top spot as the NFL’s best foodie stadium, with an impressive index score of 82.8 out of 100, we have the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium, which, despite offering slightly-above-average priced hotdogs ($6.75) and beer ($9.50), has more food reviews than any other football venue (621).
Next up, the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium takes second, ahead of New York duo the Giants (67) and Jets (66.5) – who both play at the MetLife Stadium, where you’ll find the NFL’s cheapest beer ($5).
Meanwhile, also featuring in the top five NFL foodie arenas, the Atlanta Falcons’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium scores 66 on our index. Incidentally, the Falcons offer the most affordable hotdogs, with supporters forking out just $2 for the tasty treat.
At the other end of the table, the Seattle Seahawks’ Lumen Field is the lowest-scoring stadium, with an underwhelming index score of 32.5, alongside the Green Bay Packers’ Lambeau Field (37.7) and the LA Chargers' SoFi Stadium (39).
NBA
Ranking as the ultimate NBA stadium for foodies, we have the home of the San Antonio Spurs (83.32), where you’ll find the NBA’s cheapest hotdogs - priced at just $2.75. Trailing closely, the Charlotte Hornets take second, with an index score of 82.46, helped along by offering some of the cheapest mid-game snacks (a hotdog costs $4) and an abundance of concession stands (50).
Meanwhile, the Pheonix Suns take third (79.01), ahead of the Portland Trail Blazers (73.03) and Dallas Mavericks (72.26). Diving deeper into the data, the Trail Blazers offer more concession stands than most other NBA franchises (69) – only the Oklahoma City Thunder have more.
At the other end of our table, be sure to visit the Sacramento Kings’ Golden 1 Center with tempered expectations, with the venue earning a disappointing foodie index score of just 33.24. Joining the Kings, the Denver Nuggets (47.85) and Boston Celtics (48.44) also sit towards the bottom of our list.
NHL
As for the NHL, we can officially crown the Carolina Hurricanes’ PNC Arena as the best ice hockey venue for foodies, receiving an index score of 84.5. This comes as the Hurricanes boasts more concession stands than any other franchise (90), as well as the NHL’s most affordable hotdogs ($4.50) and almost-cheapest beer ($10) – only the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets offer better-value beverages ($9.50).
Next up, the Dallas Stars score 82.2, followed by the St. Louis Blues (78.1) and Montreal Canadiens (77.2). Interestingly, the Canadiens offer an incredible 83 concession stands – only the PNC Arena has more. Finally, rounding out the top five NHL foodie stadiums, we head to the Winnipeg Jets, with the Canada Life Centre scoring 74.1 on our index. This is helped along by the Jets offering relatively affordable hotdogs ($5.5) and beer ($11).
Meanwhile, flipping our index, the Arizona Coyotes’ Mullett Arena unfortunately records the lowest score of all NHL stadium (43.3), alongside the respective home arenas of the Ottawa Senators (44.3) and Anaheim Ducks (44.8)
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The fussiest tailgating foodies
Tailgating is a major part of the gameday experience, with supporters enjoying great food with fellow fans before catching the big match-up. But which major league fanbases enjoy tailgating experience most – and which are the fussiest?
NFL
As for the NFL fans with the strongest feelings about tailgating, look no further than the Dallas Cowboys – with the Texan team recording an index score of 70.5.
They’re trailed by the Indianapolis Colts (57.6), Cincinnati Bengals (57.3), and Minnesota Vikings (50.7), while the Denver Broncos (49.9) round out the top five. At the other end of our list, the Green Bay Packers have the most fussy tailgaters, scoring just 2!
NBA
When it comes to NBA tailgating, the Dallas Mavericks have the most opinionated fanbase, with feelings spanning the full spectrum from joy to disgust – in fact, the Mavericks score an incredible 89.3 on our index.
They’re trailed by the Indiana Pacers (80.5) and San Antonio Spurs (70.4), while the Charlotte Hornets (68) and Minnesota Timberwolves (66.1) round out the top five. Meanwhile, the Sacramento Kings place bottom, with a ‘fussy index’ score of 1.5.
NHL
Across the NHL, no fanbase expressed as much joy about tailgating than that of the Dallas Stars – who record an index score of 81.1. They’re closely followed by the Winnipeg Jets (78.8), while the Edmonton Oilers (62.9) and Minnesota Wild (61.3) take third and fourth, respectively.
Finally, the Colorado Avalanche complete our list of the top five NHL fanbases according to the strength of their feelings about tailgating. In contrast, the Ottawa Senators supporters are the fussiest online, scoring just 15.2.
So, there we have it – the ultimate ranking of the best (and worst) major league venues when it comes to availability and quality of fan food. Make sure to bear the above in mind when attending your next NFL, NBA, NHL, or Premier League game! In the meantime, explore even more expert sports insight, news, and advice from our sports experts over on the OLBG blog.
Jake Ashton
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Jake Ashton, Football Betting Expert at OLBG commented on the findings: “Common ways to enjoy a sports game involve placing a bet and having a drink, however, with the food offerings at sports stadiums changing every few years, with new and unique food up for grabs, food is becoming a major part of the fan experience.
Our findings show the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium leads the NFL foodie ranking, and the San Antonio Spurs' venue offers the NBA's cheapest and most beloved hotdogs.”
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Methodology
After reviewing all sports team sites, fan forums, and Reddit, we collected data regarding the cost of food and drink at each major league stadium. We then collected social listening data to determine how fans respond to food conversations online (whether positive or negative, as well as whether they show joy or disgust).
The most popular foodie stadiums were ranked from highest to lowest, with the higher scores indicating the best stadiums for food across each league. Similarly, the tailgating ranking is based on the least fussy fan bases across the social listening data index. The higher the score, the less fussy the fans are online.
The above data was then indexed to rank the best foodie stadiums across each league.
