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All-You-Can-Eat, not all you can spend Deal one of many ways to enjoy Dodgers games on a budget By Michael Schwartz / MLB.com

Answer: Catching a Dodgers game and eating all the Dodger Dogs, peanuts, popcorn and nachos and drinking all the soft drinks and water you want while sitting in the ampm All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion in right field -- and doing it on a Super Saver Night for just $25 when purchased in advance, or $30 on game day.

"I just think it's a great deal, great value, we've got a lot of positive feedback from people," said Steve Shiffman, the Dodgers' vice president for ticket sales. "Really, I've never had any negative feedback."

The all-you-can-eat menu opens when fans can start entering the stadium 1 1/2 hours before game time and ends two hours after the game starts. Fans can get up to four hot dogs per person each time they go up to the concession stands, with beer, ice cream and candy are also available for purchase.

Shiffman said it's perfect for a father of three like himself. When he takes his children to a game he's constantly peppered with requests for hot dogs and water, and then right when he returns, he often finds another child will want him to get something else.

The next thing Shiffman knows he's spent $50.

"Here it's just like, let's go up, get here a couple of minutes before the game starts, let's get everything and let's just get to the seats," Shiffman said. "If you don't want your nachos, save them for later. Eat your hot dog now while it's hot, drink your soft drink."

Shiffman also sees the section as a great place to take a client, especially for fans who don't have the money to buy dugout seats.

"You don't have to reach into your pocket every time you or your customer or your guest or your kids want something," Shiffman said. "Even for business, think about it ... it's a great deal. This way they don't have to reach into their pocket. They can get fed, watch the game and have a great time and go home and feel full and not reach into their pocket."

One more advantage is that the lines move much quicker than they do in the rest of the stadium because the food is pre-prepared and no money needs to be transferred. Fans also serve themselves to fountain drinks instead of being handed soda cans, which has helped speed up the flow as well, Shiffman said.

"The nice thing, too, is that those lines being so quick because everything's prepared so you can get hot dogs and nachos whenever you want, you just get it and then you walk away," he said. "So you really don't miss too much of the play."

The Dodgers started experimenting with this concept two years ago and implemented it for the first time last season. Shiffman got the idea after following the team to St. Louis to check out Busch Stadium, where he said the Cardinals have had great success with pricey, all-inclusive deals that include beer.

He then took the concept and tailored it to something he felt would work better with Los Angeles fans, a system he said the Dodgers are "kind of the innovators of."

"The concept's terrific," Shiffman said. "People really embrace it, really enjoy it."

The fans have responded well -- Shiffman said the approximately 3,000-seat section was at about 80 percent capacity last season, and sold out 17 times.

The only criticism he's found of the concept came from an article in a health publication chiding such all-you-can-eat ventures for their unhealthiness, which Shiffman finds unwarranted.

"You can't blame the product, you have to believe the people have enough restraint to eat healthy and eat smart," he said. "Come to a game, have a hot dog, a Diet Coke, some peanuts. Is it the greatest health food for you? No, but it's ballpark food. Are they going to eat it every night? No, because they don't come every night. If they come twice a month or two times a month I think it's great."

Besides Super Saver Nights in the ampm All-You-Can-Eat Pavilion, Dodger Stadium offers many other great deals.

* The Coca-Cola Family Pack provides families with four tickets, four Dodger Dogs and four Cokes for as little as $70 on select Wednesday and Sunday home games.

* The Bank of America Weekend Supersaver is a mini-plan that provides fans with a 50-percent discount on Field Box or Infield Reserve Seats for eight weekend games.

* The Costco promotion offers fans two field box seats and two copies of Dodgers Magazine for $54, a $130 value.

* The Dodgers' E-Savers regularly offer fans who sign up at dodgers.com a ticket discount as large as 70 percent on select games.

* More than 26,000 of the seats at Dodger Stadium (46 percent) are priced at $20 or less if purchased in advance of the day of game.

* Kids can purchase tickets for just $7 in the Top Deck or Left Field Pavilion on the day of a game.

* First-time groups can receive up to 50 percent off most games in many areas of Dodger Stadium, while second-time groups will receive an offer for up to 70 percent off most home games.

Michael Schwartz is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

posted by Don "Moses" Lerman  # 6:22 PM