Buying a pie and chips at the MCG will soon be a lot cheaper for fans.
Under a new deal with its catering contractor Epicure, the Melbourne Cricket Club has slashed the price of a range of products on sale at the stadium in a bid to make going to the football and cricket more family-friendly.
In all, eight items have been reduced with bottled water undergoing the biggest price drop from $5 to $3 – a 40 per cent discount.
MCC chief executive Stephen Gough estimated the price restructure will cost the MCC and Epicure around $14 million in lost revenue over the course of the seven-year contract.
“We have listened to the fans,” Gough said on Monday.
“We understand their affordability concerns and we are very confident that this initiative will be extremely well received.
“And we’ve given the guarantee that we’ll (increase prices on those products) by the CPI only over seven years.”
The range of price-reduced items includes hot chips ($5.60 down to $4), meat pies ($4.80 to $4), hot dogs ($6.50 to $4), chicken schnitzel burgers ($10 to $7.50), 600ml soft drinks ($5 to $4), sushi ($6.80 to $5) and salads ($11.50 to $8).
But while it will be cheaper to buy a pie and chips this year, the same cannot be said for beer, wine and spirits.
“We’ve focused our attention here on the family, so alcohol wasn’t part of those considerations,” Gough said.
“We didn’t think that alcohol should be something we’d be encouraging in sort of a ‘happy hour’ sense.”
Fans who like a beer haven’t been completely ignored, however, with beer trays that used to cost a dollar now complimentary.
The high price of food and drink at the ground has long been a bugbear for supporters, but Gough defended the MCC’s previous pricing policies.
“People compare the price of things here with what they might buy at their corner store or the supermarket, but that’s a little bit different,” he said.
“As we operate here, it’s not a continuous seven-day business – we bring staff in and we pay penalty rates – so it does cost us more.
“And, of course, we do have to generate a profit to sustain the MCG, (but) if we can do something that does make a difference without compromising our ability to upgrade the MCG and service our debt then we’re delighted to do it.”
The deal will come into effect on April 1 – the day before the AFL season kicks off.
