From 'Lobstah Poutine' to the 'Schwarbomb Sundae', the MLB concession battle is heating up

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From Arizona’s 128-ounce nacho bucket, Miami’s two-foot long flour tortilla known as the machete, Boston’s boat of lobstah poutine and Texas’ $40 26-inch wearable nacho sombrero, no concession item idea is too out of left field for Major League Baseball teams to try these days.

In the TikTok and social media era, all 30 teams are not just competing for wins on the field, but also for who can come up with the most viral, over-the-top, attention-grabbing culinary creation in their ballpark concourses.

Items like Citizen Bank Park’s Schwarbomb Sundae — a helmet filled with ice cream and a deep fried Uncrustable — or Citi Field’s Wok N’ Roll— which creates and sells a limited edition custom egg roll based on the opponent’s home town like this week’s Skyline Chili inspired dish from Cincinnati — are a bigger reason why some fans are coming to games ahead of the actual action on the field.

The Schwarbomb Sundae is a helmet filled with ice cream and a deep fried Uncrustable. (Courtesy of Aramark)

“We are truly trying to drive participation and encourage people to try something different,” Alicia Woznicki, the vice president of design and development for Aramark Sports and Entertainment, which runs the concessions for eight MLB teams, told Yahoo Sports. “Now people are coming to the ballpark looking for those items.”

Data provided by the MLB players union to The Athletic last fall claimed that 39% of team revenue on average came from ticket and concession sales, a huge number considering MLB generated a record $12.1 billion in revenue in 2024.

MLB drew more than 71.4 million fans to ballparks during the 2025 regular season. A 2025 study from frictionless checkout company Mashgin showed that the average MLB fan spent $56 on food and beverage per game during the 2024 season. A Sports Business Journal report claims that 73% of fans who attend live sporting events will spend more than $100 per outing on food and drink. While most teams lump in concession sales with overall ticket revenue, the Mets reported $38.3 million in concession sales alone last season, a 55% year-over-year increase.

Aside from the New York Yankees, which founded Legends Global with the Dallas Cowboys and sold a majority stake in the hospitality company to private equity fund Sixth Street at a $1.35 billion valuation in 2021, nearly every MLB team outsources its concessions business to one of three multi-billion dollar behemoths. The aforementioned Aramark generated $18.5 billion in 2025 revenue; Levy Restaurants, which operates concessions for the Los Angeles Dodgers, both Chicago teams and both Beltway clubs, pulls in a reported $1.5 billion in annual revenue; and Delaware North, whose baseball clients include the Atlanta Braves and St. Louis Cardinals, accumulated a reported $4.4 billion in 2025 revenue.

In short, concessions are big business, which is part of the reason why teams are coming up with new and unique items to sell.

As the collectible market has exploded in popularity since the pandemic, teams across the U.S. have started to sell various cocktail concoctions out of mini water coolers fans can then take home with them as souvenirs. The Dodgers are selling a $39.99 watermelon habanero margarita with a spice-dusted rim that are now being posted on eBay for nearly twice the original price. Red Sox cooler cups filled with Ketel One and lemonade are $20 and come in Fenway green or city connect yellow, while Philadelphia, Denver, San Francisco and others all sell their own cooler cup iterations. Some teams take things even further, like the Mets do with a 32-ounce boozy bucket filled with either rum punch or Long Island iced tea cocktails topped with candy.

“You'll see comments on social media of people who said they bought a ticket to the game just to go get that cup,” Woznicki said. “With baseball, when you have that more casual fan, you can still see the game but you’re not necessarily watching every single solitary play. In those scenarios, I do think food and beverage can be a driver to get people to actually attend an event.”

That theory was put to the test in a major way at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. on May 15, where the Washington Nationals took on the rival Baltimore Orioles and centered everything around one ballpark staple in a viral way. Last summer, the team’s business strategy, communications and marketing departments collaborated on an idea where for one night, the hot dog would be the vehicle to drive fan engagement, according to Nats president of business operations Jason Sinnarajah. All hot dogs would sell for $5. They had Levy create specialty hot dogs like one featuring spam and pineapple, a Korean-style dog topped with crushed hot Cheetos and deep fried hot dogs cut into shoestring fries and served with a ranch dipping sauce.

At Fenway Park, fans can purchase "Lobstah Poutine," which comes in its own boat-shaped bowl.

If that wasn’t enough, the first 20,000 fans received hats that said “bad day to be a hot dog,” a hit on social media, and had someone walk up to the pitcher’s mound and bite into the ceremonial first hot dog. The Nationals even introduced a new team mascot, a Golden Retriever and Labrador Retriever mix named Natty, that night to cement the theme. Washington sold out the game, and fans purchased nearly 28,000 hot dogs, potentially bringing in new fans drawn in by all the glizzy madness.

“We were excited to welcome these new fans and appeal to a younger audience looking for a good social experience,” Sinnarajah told Yahoo Sports. “The viral concession concepts, in particular the hot dog fries, were our attempt to create a social event and drive a packed house.”

Washington epitomized what teams are trying to accomplish with specialty concession items and themed food nights: bring in new fans, bring in younger fans and have them engage with food offerings in a way the Nationals hope lures them back to the ballpark in the future.

“The energy in the stands was off the charts,” Sinnarajah said. “It was a successful event and we will be looking to more events in the future to appeal to all segments of fans who will see this as a way that we’re leveling up the game day experience for them.”

Aramark is already on the hunt for the next social media sensation. Rich Grab, the company’s director of culinary innovation, travels the country going out to eat while following the latest social culinary trends and working with the research and development team to see what might work in either general concessions or the premium luxury spaces. Woznicki hinted that a dirty soda bar concept or uncommon pairings like ice cream and red wine could soon be coming to a stadium near you.

Now that teams are known for serving concession items they can’t get anywhere else, the pressure’s on all 30 teams and companies like Aramark, Levy’s and Delaware North to innovate year after year. While most fans will come to the ballpark to witness a Shohei Ohtani home run or a Paul Skenes strikeout, some are simply enticed by the thought of chowing down on a nacho sombrero, biting into a machete, or diving into some lobstah poutine.

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