How Many Beers are Sold at a Baseball Game?

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Baseball and beer are darn near synonymous for some fans. Ever wondered how many beers are sold at a baseball game? We did.

Depending on the source, average beer consumption at each Major League Baseball game can range from between 6,000 and 16,666 beers per game.

The amount of beer sold in baseball stadiums, as well as the number of beer selections, have changed quite a bit since Mickey Mantle’s days. And trying to determine exactly how much beer gets sold at baseball games was not easy.

Estimated Per-Game Average Beers Sold at MLB Stadiums

Most news reports about beer sales at baseball games focus on the prices of each beer, and price per type (craft vs. regular, etc.). For this report, we found a couple of articles that provided figures for the total amount of beer sold by volume each MLB season. Then we did the math:

This report from answerstoall.com states that 200,000 ounces of beer are consumed per MLB game. If you divide that by the average size of a beer, 12 oz., you get just over 16,666 beers per game.
Yet another report, by WebstaurantStore slips in this tidbit: an estimated 14.6 million beers are sold at MLB stadiums each season. Divide that by the total number of games played between all 30 teams, which is 2,430, and it comes to a little more than 6,008 beers per game.

However the pieces fall, it’s a lot of beer. In total per season, it’s 16.2 million ounces of beer sold every season.

How Much Money Does Beer Make for MLB Teams Per Game?

The average cost for a single beer at major league games is $5.97 per beer according to statista.com.

So, using the above estimates of beers sold per game, each team can figure to pull in up to $100,000 gross per game in sales of suds alone. Each team gets 81 home games, so every team can make over $8 million per season on beer alone.

If indeed the average is 6,008.23 beers per game, then teams get $35,869.13 per game from beer, and $2.9 million for the season.

If the beer volume is 16,666.67 per contest, that makes a whopping $99,500.02 per game, or $8,059,501.61 per the 81 home games for each club every season.

It’s a lot of beer revenue.

Which Baseball Fans Drink the Most?

An often-shared report about average alcoholic drinks consumed per fan per MLB game gets confused often with how much beer is consumed. Since most stadiums also sell other types of alcoholic drinks ~ and of course, some fans sneak in their own non-beer drinks ~ such a conclusion would be erroneous.

Nonetheless, let’s pretend they were only talking about drinking beer (regardless where they got it from a stadium concession stand, or brought it from a store). The report breaks down average drinks per game per team, and here are the highs and lows:

Most Beers Per Baseball Game

Chicago White Sox – 4.2 drinks per game per attendee
Atlanta Braves – 4.0
Cincinnati Reds – 3.8
Cleveland Guardians – 3.8
San Diego Padres – 3.7

Biggest Lightweight Baseball Fans

Philadelphia Phillies – 2.4 drinks per game per attendee
Oakland Athletics – 2.5
San Francisco Giants – 2.7
Los Angeles Dodgers – 2.7
St. Louis Cardinals – 2.8

Because stadium per-beer prices fluctuate, the average amount each game attendee spends on beer does not line up with the numbers above. White Sox fans spend $46 per game on alcohol, but it’s not the most in the MLB. That honor goes to the New York Mets, where fans spend an average of $53 per game on alcohol, followed by the Los Angeles Angels at $49 per game.

The lowest is the $22 per game Texas Rangers fans spend on alcohol per game, and then $23 per game by Phillies fans. Philadelphia fans are known to be among the rowdiest in the game, so these averages can make you wonder: How good are they at hiding what they bring in?

The report was produced by a survey of 2,631 self-described Major League Baseball fans in February 2021, all aged 21 or older, from throughout the United States. They were asked “How many alcoholic beverages do you typically consume while watching a baseball game?”; and How much do you usually spend on alcoholic beverages when watching a baseball game?”

The average age of those who responded was 36 years old, and 58% of them were male, 42% female.

Modern Impacts to Beer Sales at MLB Stadiums

In years past, from about the turn of the 20th century and before, more beer was consumed during MLB games. What has reduced the amount is rules regarding alcohol sales at games, which many clubs began instituting during a period when concerns were raised about the problems of drinking at sports events.

For instance, at Dodgers Stadium, they stopped selling beer in the bleacher seats, past the outfield wall, at all. Want to sit in the cheap seats? Okay, but if you want beer you have to sit right behind home plate and in the very top level (5th level) from the playing field. From there the players on the field can look like ants, but who cares if you have some cold suds while up there.

That stadium also stops selling beer after the 7th inning. During that inning there’s usually a mad rush as fans buy a beer (or 2 or 3 beers if they can get away with it) to try to last through the game. A great misfortune for big drinkers occurs when games go into extra innings (think the 18 innings of Game 3 of the 2018 World Series; fans that night went 11 full innings without being able to buy any beer.

Other clubs have instituted similar rules to try to curb rowdiness and trouble at games, and also problems post-game like fights in parking lots or mishaps while driving home.

Question: What’s the average “cheapest” beer at MLB games?

Answer: An average of about $4 per 15-ounce beer.

Q.: What is the preferred adult beverage for baseball fans?

A.: An estimated 70% say beer. In that realm, baseball trails only football fans, where 75% of their fans prefer beer also.