We are about to roll into the 25 portion of the 2024/25 Phoenix Suns season, and so far, this season has been a gigantic Mehhhhhhh. The season started with serious hope; it had better after all, with the biggest payroll in the sport. In the NBA when you have a few mega-stars, anything is possible, including a championship.
Yet at the time of writing, the Suns have not played up to their payroll. At the time of writing, the team is hovering around .500 and is currently in a depressing 11th place in the West Conference. Granted, the midsection of the conference is as crowded as a WalMart on Black Friday and the Suns are only 2.5 games away from the 5th place Lakers. They are far better than the lowly Pelicans pulling up the conference caboose. But to say that the start of the season has not met expectations would be an understatement.
We wrote previously about the massive jump in ticket prices this year, but that becomes an even harder sell when the team underperforms. So what do you do to keep fans engaged, other than attempt to pump hope through the bloodstream and continue to get butts in the seats? Many teams will have promotions, give away bobbleheads, etc.
The Suns? They’re going with cheap food; as in a $2 value menu. Some of the most popular food and drink items are being slashed in price to two dollars.
This move is nearly unprecedented. After all, hyper-inflated concession items are an American tradition. So many of us love to complain about the 2,000% markups on basic food and the fundamental unaffordability of most professional sports matches above and beyond the price of the cheap seats. The NFL’s Atlanta Falcons are well known for having very good concession food at Costco prices, but we’re hard pressed to think of any other professional sports franchises who have carved a similar path. After all, passing up huge profit margins is never easy.
Desperation or good listening? It’s tough to say. A cynical mind could see this as a “let them eat hot dogs” moment, throwing a bone to a jaded fanbase that should rightfully expect better results than it’s getting. Or perhaps the owners are finally listening to one of the most prominent criticisms of modern day professional sports: that costs are driving out families. It’s tough to parse out motives, but since it’s not our profits that are being eaten up, there’s not much to complain about.
Professional sports matches are at their best when they are family friendly; when you can take a few kids there, pass on the love of sport to the next generation, and build memories for the future. While concessions are just one aspect of that experience, they’re not an insignificant one. And this move is one of the most family-friendly in our memory. So if for that reason alone, this is a great move by the Ishbias.