We've all been there before.
After queuing in a line for what seemed like hours, locating your ticket, locating a bathroom, and locating your seat, you finally sit down for a big event. Maybe it's the highly anticipated Red Sox vs. Yankees game, which you've been wanting to see firsthand since you were a kid.
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Innings go by and you've seen some great action. The Sox are up by a run, and you've got a great seat on the first base line to see it all play out. The only problem is, it's past your usual dinner time and you're starving. All this excitement made you forget that you haven't eaten since lunch time. But the nearest concession stand is far away, and you'd rather not get up and miss a potentially game-changing hit.
If you'd been watching the game at Yankee Stadium, it wouldn't have been an issue. You curse Fenway Park for half a second before remembering it's the greatest ballpark on earth, and nobody knows tradition like the Green Monster.
Tradition is one thing. But convenience is quite another. Enter Uber Eats (UBER) -), which has been quietly testing a deliver-to-seat option for hungry fans in the Bronx. Starting in March, Uber partnered with the Stadium to deliver orders directly to fans at their seats, no small feat for an over 57,000 capacity venue.
To access the service, customers simply scan a QR code at their seat, put their order in, select their seat and row number, and -- of course -- add a tip. Fans can choose from any number of the in-stadium concession stands. There's also an option to order ahead and pick up, if you wish.
Uber Eats expands stadium offerings
The service has proven so popular, as a matter of fact, that Uber is taking its service bicoastal.
Beginning this summer, fans in the Bay Area will also be able to order in-seat delivery at the San Francisco Giants' Oracle Park. The service is only available to a select 3,000 seats located within the Field Club, Premium Field Club and Dugout Club as of right now.
Uber Eats says part of its success is thanks to a change in 2023 MLB clock rules, which can make pitching times shorter and reduces game time. All this means fans may want to spend more time in their seats — and less waiting in line at the concession stand.
All of this is a part of Uber's push to meet event goers where they are — in stadiums and in seats — to expand the service's reach and omnipresence. As of now, the service is mostly consigned to sports stadiums, but Uber says it's considering expansion into concert venues, festivals and theaters.
I won't be happy until I can order my spicy tuna crunch roll at the New York Metropolitan Opera House. But this seems like we're moving in the right direction.
