Does your paper pay for press box food?

Mine doesn't, far as I know. But there's at least one organization on my beat which does on ethical grounds, and I'm curious who else does.

And to be more specific, I'm talking more about places where the press box food is provided for free as opposed to those ballparks/stadiums where you have to pay, etc. My beat is a major D-I school where the press box meals can be a pretty big spread and cash isn't collected.

 

No newspaper company does anything on "ethical grounds."

Anything they "pay for," they write off.

 

Thank you for your meaningful contribution to this thread.

 

Oh, we pay for it ... in the form of non-stop angst from the hosting U., in the form of "no comments" and various other assorted roadblocks thrown up by the U's venerable head ball coach and his Sports Information Staff, in the form of an ulcer-inducing halftime spread on the final day of a 60-hour week ... yeah, we pay for it.

rb

 

Some writers more than others, apparently.

 

Our paper began paying for spreads at every major sporting venue we attend on a regular basis in our coverage area.

That includes an MLB, NBA and NFL team and three Division I college basketball teams.

As far as I'm aware we pay for as many as five meals at the bigger venues and as few as one at the smaller ones, depending on how we staff things.

And I totally agree with the concept.

 

I don't know. I should get paid for attempting to eat some of the swill offered to us. Is there anything worse than the upchuck at U of Miami games that passes for paella? The U of Florida is high school cafeteria food at best and FSU is just as bad.

There are many guys at those schools who just go to the concession stands and pay, rather than risk ptomaine.

 

I have to admit ... as usual the Thanksgiving-style spread up at New Hampshire International Speedway is always a pleasure. Turkey, Mashed, Stuffing, Squash and Cranberry Sauce.

A pleasure indeed.

All I can say is I'd pay for it if I made any money in my pay check each week. It's often a better meal than I get at most eateries near my home.

 

Back in the day, the Lincoln holiday basketball tournament always had a sweet spread. Making $9 an hour covering preps, I wish I would have taken a doggie bag.

 

Back in the day, the running joke at Michigan was that Don Canham bought hot dogs his first year as athletic director in 1968, and the school spent the next 30 years trying to get rid of them..
Death Dogs, with red and yellow flavoring...

 

I am fairly comfortable in saying that the home venue on my beat (Division I men's hoops) has a nightly spread that would rank among the top five in all of sports.

The visiting beat writers are regularly amazed by the quantity and quality of food available to them.