Saturday night, I attended the Mahoning Valley Thunder arena football game at the Chevy Center in downtown Youngstown. For my money, AF2 games may be the most enjoyable sporting event I've been to with the low cost ticket prices and the location close to home, you can't beat it if you're into football. It's about the tenth event I've gone to at the arena. And everytime, I come away in disbelief. How can they charge $5.50 for a Miller Lite or MGD bottle? It's not just the Chevy Center that charges high prices for beer, it's every ballpark, stadium, arena across the country. In fact, last summer I went to a baseball game in Detroit and they charge $8 per beer at Comerica Park. 8 bucks! For eight dollars, I can get a pitcher of good beer at Our Gang's. Although as Nick has pointed out with the price of water and hops going up who knows how long that will last. The Board should look into this practice and come up with a solution to the problem of high prices at arenas and stadiums. Don't get me wrong, I've bought a round or two at a ballpark, but the price of beer shouldn't be more than the ticket price for the event.
Just as a side note, for those of you who have not attended an event at the Chevy Center, you should check one out. They have had several good concerts in the past along with sporting events. It's only about 25 minutes from Hermitage and parking is always free. There isn't a bad seat in the house and with only about 5,000 seats you are always on top of the action. The Arena features your basic beer selections on the main concourse. If you are looking for something different they do feature a $8 martini at a full service bar along with other mixed drinks. The VIP lounge is very nice with a full glass wall where you can look out over the downtown. This lounge also features a few more beers on tap but nothing that will knock your socks off. Just outside the arena is several different types of bars with (dare I say) BW3-your basic franchise, Invibe-more upscale martini bar with a special back room that is actually an old bank vault, the Core-dance club, and for the younger college age crowd the Cell. The Cell is located right next to the Mahoning County Jail which is a nice touch.
If anyone would like to contact the board and be added to our email list feel free to email us at repealday@gmail.com and remember we meet month on the third Thursday.
