In a movement that seems to be picking up a little steam, the Baltimore Orioles today announced that they will introduce a value concessions menu at select stands this year at Camden Yards.
The new value menu will have seven food items and five beverage options. On the food side, there will be a hot dog, pretzel bites, nachos, popcorn, peanuts, and a “packaged dessert”, which will most likely be some sort of ice cream.
On the beverage side, there will be a 16oz soda or water ($4), 12oz beers ($5), and 12oz hard seltzers ($6).
How much of a savings will this be for fans? Well, here’s how the new pricing compares to the price info we have from the 2023 season:
| Item | 2023 Price | 2025 Value Menu Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Dog | $8.25 | $4.00 | May be smaller than full-price version |
| Pretzel bites w/ cheese | $6.99 | $4.00 | 2023 price is for a full-sized pretzel |
| Cinnamon pretzel bites w/ cream cheese icing | $6.99 | $4.00 | 2023 price is for a full-sized pretzel |
| Nacho chips & cheese | $7.99 | $4.00 | May be smaller than full-price version |
| Popcorn | 7.99 | $3.50 | May be smaller than full-price version |
| Peanuts | $5.99 | $2.50 | May be smaller than full-price version |
| Packaged dessert | $6.75 | $3.00 | 2023 price was for cheapest ice cream cup in the stadium |
| Soda | $5.99 (16oz bottle) | $4.00 (16 oz refillable) | New version is refillable! |
| 16.9oz Bottled water | $5.49 | $4.00 | Same exact item |
| Non-alcoholic beer | $10.99 (16oz can) | $5.00 (12oz can) | 2023 price was for a 16oz can |
| Select beers | $10.99 (16oz can) | $5.00 (12oz can) | 2023 price was for a 16oz can |
| Hard seltzer | $12.49 (16oz can) | $6.00 (12oz can) | 2023 price was for a 16oz can |
Make no mistake: these are significant savings for fans. On the previous menu, a family of four buying four hot dogs, two orders of nachos, two sodas, two beers, and four desserts would have spent $110. Now, with the new menu, that tab would come to $54 (albeit for 12oz beers instead of 16oz beers). That is a serious savings.
Now, we don’t know for sure what these new menu items will look like. It’s entirely possible that the value hot dogs will be smaller than the previous standard hot dogs. And the same goes for item sizes – the popcorn and peanuts could be smaller serving sizes as well. But, if you ask us … who cares? Stadium sizes are usually ridiculously large anyway, and if you really want a second serving, these prices make that affordable. Staples like soda will now be refillable (TBD on the number of refills, or if it will be unlimited), and we’ve seen ice cream at some stadiums hover around $10. These prices are a game changer.
The biggest savings may come for beer drinkers, who will be able to grab some suds for just $5. And the list of available beers on this menu is shockingly positive. There is the traditional (and all-we-expected-them-to-offer) option of Miller High Life, but they will also include Blue Moon, Leinenkugel’s, Stella Artois, and Sierra Nevada – beers that would undoubtedly be classified as “premium” options at other ballparks. Honestly, we’re shocked to see this sort of assortment on a value list. Kudos to the Orioles!
Make no mistake: there are still plenty of people who will lament that popular food items in the ballpark are still crazy expensive. And that’s fine – they can be upset all they want. But now at least there’s a choice – a happy medium – between eating at the ballpark and spending a fortune, or having to eat before arriving. We think this is a very decent menu, with enough variety to satisfy most people.
So now the Orioles join the Atlanta Falcons and Phoenix Suns with well-publicized value menus. But they aren’t the only ones. Teams like the Minnesota Twins have been doing this for years, and plenty of other teams have small value menus that don’t get as much notice. But don’t worry – we’ll be bringing you info on budget items in every ballpark for MLB 2025, so stay tuned!
