In accordance with common practice at other sports and entertainment venues, it is the Football Club’s policy not to allow supporters to bring outside food and beverage into the premises, with a varied range of refreshments available to purchase inside Glanford Park.
Operations manager Pete Wallace said: “Since our new catering partners VCP came on board, the intention is for them to sell their products inside the stadium to raise revenue.”
He added: “That aside, there are other factors. For instance, it costs the club a lot of money to dispose of all the waste that’s brought into the stadium. We have to pay waste management companies to dispose of it, and the Football Club doesn’t make anything from that. We don’t get any financial gain through sponsorship from the food and drink outlets around the stadium either.”
“We also employ people from the town to work in these catering points, such as casual workers who need the work and students,” he continued. “Someone bringing food and beverage in from an outside company has a knock-on effect. It costs to dispose of the waste, we wouldn’t need as many matchday catering staff, and the club and our partners wouldn’t generate any money to invest back into the football club.”
There’s signage throughout the stadium that raises awareness of this policy to customers and he explained: “What we’ve done since the start of the season is a ‘soft launch’; advising supporters in person on a matchday that eventually the practice of bringing food and beverage into the stadium will stop.”
He added: “Contrary to some reports, we have never confiscated or turned away anybody who’s brought their own flasks into the stadium.”
The intention of the policy is to stop fans bringing large items from the many food outlets that surround the stadium.
Should any supporters wish for any further clarity please email feedback@scunthorpe-united.co.uk.