In the U.S. and Europe, no true fan will enjoy a sports game without a drink and a snack in his or her hand.
That tradition is only just making a breakthrough in Ukraine, as stadiums try to maximize the profits they make from every visiting fan before, during and after the match.
While you used to only be able to pick up some semechki, or sunflower seeds, before games from rows of elderly ladies, now stadiums are offering a range of food and drinks.
The stadium, which will host five games at Euro 2012, including the final, has followed in the footsteps of Shakhtar Donetsk’s home, the first to offer a variety of drinks and snacks.
The first thing stadium management did was ban fans from bringing their own food and drinks to games. Many fans were surprised at first when security guards confiscated liquids, as they did earlier, but also sandwiches. Semechki theoretically should also be banned, but the guards are so far not taking away this staple of football fans.
The Kyiv Post attended three recent games at the Olympic Stadium, where Dynamo Kyiv played against Arsenal Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Chernomorets to test out the products and the service of the official kiosks and restaurants.
It must be said that the ban on food and drinks didn’t prevent a number of fans from bringing their own consumables – not only was food visible in the stands, but also flasks and small vodka and brandy bottles. Drunk fans are also supposed to be barred from entering the stadium, but the smell of alcohol on people’s breath was far from a rarity.
Presumably security will be tightened ahead of Euro 2012 and the rules more strictly observed.
There are 42 fast-food kiosks on the second and third levels of the stadium, which can serve more than 54,000 hungry and thirsty fans.
The first thing to note is the level of service, which is very high. That’s a real surprise given the usually lamentable standards in Ukraine. The cashiers worked calmly and politely to serve the long – and sometimes rude – queues, despite teething problems. Their permanent grins came straight out of the American fast-food sales textbook.
The beer ran out rather too quickly, but this will surely be fixed for the coming games. Coffee was available at all the windows of the kiosks, but there was only one machine, forcing people to wait and creating long queues.
On the whole, the service improved from game to game, and by the match against Chernomorets on April 1, it was possible to join the line at the start of half time and not worry about missing the restart.
Fans were also getting used to the card payment system, where they buy a plastic card from terminals close to the kiosks and load it with money in order to pay for their purchases. It’s a convenient system and prevents having to wait for people to find the right number of kopecks.
The main problem around the kiosks is a lack of space. There are no special tables to stand at while consuming your drink or snack, unlike at Shakhtar’s Donbass Arena. Fans often end up returning to the stands, trying not to spill their drinks.
The prices for beverages are quite reasonable. A half-liter of beer costs Hr 15, which is about the average in city bars. Energy drinks go for Hr 25, while a small bottle of water costs Hr 15. A coffee costs Hr 12.
The food prices, however, seem a little high. A cheeseburger costs Hr 28, but can hardly be called better than what you can buy in McDonald’s for one-quarter the price. The bun that this reporter received his burger in was stale. The hot dog was not any better, with hard bread and no salad, but at least the sausage was quite tasty.
The best snack available was packets of fries and popcorn for Hr 20.
The stadium will have to improve its food and lower prices if it wants to attract fans back regularly.
If you have a bit more cash available, you can go into the VIP sector, where the quality is higher, but at a price – Hr 250. For that sum, fans get a great view of the game and access to a buffet of sausages and chicken wings, as well as wine and juice. Other alcohol and food is available at the VIP bar.
The stadium also has its own sports bar, called Sport & Beer, which is located on the ground floor near the exit onto Shota Rustaveli Street. The restaurant is set out like a traditional sports bar with a large number of plasma screens showing various sports, including boxing and Formula One, as well as football.
Kostya Dovgan is a freelance Kyiv journalist.
