By Kendrick E. Johnson
Published 11:54 pm, Friday, September 19, 2014
It’s universally known that Friday nights in Texas in the fall are reserved for high school football.
In Southeast Texas, no matter if you have a family member who attends West Brook, plays football for Hardin-Jefferson or is in the Port Neches-Groves “Purple Pride Indian Band,” most people have some sort of personal tie to Friday night football.
“It does not get any better than football on Friday nights in Southeast Texas,” said West Brook parent Brad Smith said. “No matter the weather or whoever West Brook is playing there is no place I would want me or my family to be at then here at The Butch watching the Bruins play.”
But making high school football a weekly outing can be costly.
Most people attending games will eventually stop by the concession stand for drinks and snacks. Others will buy the fan merchandise offered by the booster clubs.
At West Brook games, it costs $7 to buy a turkey leg and $5 for a hamburger. If you are feeding a family of four and want to add fries or drinks, the costs can quickly add up.
“A family of four can easily spend $25 to $30 at our concession stand because we are selling top-notch quality food,” said West Brook Booster Club President Christine Gavrelos.
It costs fans $7 a person to attend a West Brook, Ozen or Central game at home and another dollar to park at The Butch.
That means, a family of four can expect to spend between $55 and $65 a week on high school football in Beaumont.
For the fans out in Sour Lake, the Hardin-Jefferson games are a bit cheaper.
Tickets are $4 for adults and $2 for kids.
Unlike the concessions at The Butch, nothing at Hawk Stadium will run you more than five bucks. Hawk Stadium’s top selling item is a $5 chicken basket. Fans can score nachos for $3 and a hot dog for $2.
“The concession stand is an integral part of the football
experience here in Hardin County.
So we do our best to make it good and affordable to all families,” President of Hardin-Jefferson’s band booster club Stephanie Vanskike said.
“Even if people eat before they come here, they tend to get something from our concession stand because the food is good and affordable.”
Thanks to having low priced tickets and affordable prices at the concession stand, most families in Hardin County spend a around $30 to $35 to take in a game on any given Friday night.
For a family to watch a Port Neches-Groves game at The Reservation, the cost literally depends on the weather and how much you want to spend.
With tickets going for $6 a person, a family of four will have to spend $24 just to watch the game.
Once you add the usual game essentials of food and a program, a routine trip to The Reservation will run a family between $45 to $50.
But unlike most high school stadiums, The Reservation has a high-end merchandise section which is just as much a part of the Friday night game experience in Mid-County as concession stands are to most schools.
On a rainy Friday night, the PN-G merchandise section routinely sells out of team specific ponchos, which go for $10 each and stadium cushion seats, which go for $15.
If the average family has to add the ponchos due to weather or buys cushion seats as a luxury, they can easily double the total of a normal trip and spend between $85 and $90 a game.
“Our prices are pretty standard across the board when you add up tickets and food,” PN-G booster club President Allen Guilbeaux said.
“What makes going to a game in Mid-County different than other places in the area is because most people love to get their personalized PN-G merchandise to support our Indians.”
KJohnson@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/@kendrickjohnso
Source: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/sports/hs/article/Money-matters-for-football-fans-5768754.php
