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Go to the gas station and buy a couple 20 ounce pops for a few bucks.
Wear cargo shorts.
Put them in your cargo shorts and do everything you can to walk normal without the bottles being noticeable
Unless they see it bulging in your pockets, you should get through.
Just like that, you saved probably $5 or more on two pops. I've done this probably 8-10 times without being "caught" once. It is now profitable for me to do this every time, because worst case scenario I lose a few bucks worth of pop.
-DC
Whoa! The normally stoic Flexo almost had an emotion? LOL
You want a challenge? Follow the Royals. It's the reason I don't the MLB package on DirecTV. Who needs to watch your team lose 90-100 times a year, every year? Well, that and it's damn expensive.
Agreed on the food on the drink. Fill up as much as you can beforehand and try to stash snacks away on you somewhere before going in.
Stubhub is also a great idea, but you need to take into consideration the popularity of the game/event you're going to. A Mets game on a Tuesday night in mid-August usually won't generate too much demand and you probably can find a great deal on Stubhub. However if you're trying to find tickets to a Giants-Eagles game in December that has playoff implications, you might have to act much earlier. BTW, I spent most of my late teens and early 20's doing "manual upgrades" at stadiums. It may have come after the sixth inning, but a better seat is a better seat!
Regarding the souvenirs, you'll be happy to know that when I interviewed Teri Gault of The Grocery Game (for an upcoming podcast on haggling), she said that she was able to successfully negotiate a discount at a stadium's souvenir shop. She did say, however, that trying to haggle better prices on the food and drink was unsuccessful. LOL
One last thing, never "close your ears and eyes" at a ball game. Not only is there a lot of stuff you'll miss, but you could catch a line drive right in the puss...depending on where you're sitting. LOL
Camden Yards also has an area where people sell extra tickets for the game at or below (usually below--sometimes WELL below) face value. For Orioles games, it's usually not hard to snag seats.
And for souvenirs, try to align your outing with a giveaway day. That's how I got both my Yankees hats, and at least half of my t-shirts are now O's shirts, due to how frequently they give them away. (There ARE bonuses to having a crappy team.) I recently went to a Twins game and walked away with a free Justin Morneau wind-up toy.
-Erica
Rules vary at stadiums, call or check online for yours.
Flexo,
If you have an interest in these tickets (they are inconsistent and no rain checks, but for $5! Its worth the gamble) go ahead and e-mail me.
As for food and drinks many parks let you bring them in - Atlanta, Camden, Coors Field, San Diego, Dodger Stadium, Wrigley have all let me bring in food and sealed drink. In fact I asked an usher in Colorado what the best food in the stadium was and he told me to go out gate 5, go to the street and find Rosa - she sells the best tamales. So I walked out of the stadium bought my food on the street and came right back in.
But mostly I hit minor league games. There are lots of free tickets available - get to know some of the season ticket holders. A real fan knows their favorite teams farm system well and the best way to do that is hit up the minor leagues.
The one thing I do is look for promotions or discount tickets (maybe at a radio station). Also, many companies buy box seats as perks for their employees. Basically the employees just have to reserve them with the HR dept. I have a few friends who then let me have the tickets if I ask. The downside is that weekend games are usually hard to get, weekdays not so much.
Finally, concessions are just part of it, and will be expensive. I usually eat before I go in the park and then have a beer while watching the game.
The way I use to save on tickets is to check the team's website on mlb.com. All of the teams' I've seen have some sort of promotion going for something. Sometimes you can get 4 tickets, drinks, food, and a program for $40. Or sign up for the team's ticket newsletter. You can get some seats for nearly half off. I went to an Astros game this year and got $36 seats for $20.