As MLB teams pour massive amounts of money and resources into enhancing the experience at ballparks, this partial paradox has emerged: Faster games this season have improved the pace and general feel of being at a ballpark in the eyes of many fans, but by definition the experience is now shorter than it used to be.
One adjustment some teams — including the Twins — have already made to games that have been about 30 minutes shorter than last year: Alcohol sales have been extended to the eighth inning at several ballparks, including at Target Field.
The previous standard at Target Field and around MLB before this season was to cut off sales in the seventh inning. But with games flying by — Tuesday's 4-3 Twins win, which went 10 innings, checked in at a brisk 2 hours, 23 minutes — teams have a shorter window to sell concessions.
"Even by ending later, we're still having a shorter period of time when guests can buy alcohol," Matt Hoy, the Twins senior vice president of operations, told The Business Journal. "We want to make sure that people have the opportunity to enjoy themselves when they're out here."
There's a financial component to extending sales, too. Independent sports business writer Joe Pompliano tweeted that shorter games this season could cost some teams more than $1 million in lost beer sales.
Extending the sale of alcohol does, though, put the onus on consumers.
At least some of the idea behind cutting off alcohol sales is to allow a gap between the last drink consumed and a time when a game ends and fans might be getting back into cars. The NFL standard, for instance, is to cut off sales at the end of the third quarter.
But the Brewers, Rangers and Diamondbacks, like the Twins, have already extended sales to the eighth inning this year and other teams are reportedly mulling it.
Teams might logically note that ballparks like Target Field have plenty of nearby options for post-game alcohol consumption regardless of when sales end at a game.
"If it turns out that this is causing an issue or we feel that it might cause an issue, then we'll revert to what we have done previously," Brewers President of business operations Rick Schlesinger told MLB.com.
