Monday, March 12, 2012

No gluten-free joy in Mudville, or any other spring training site

While more and more major league ballparks are offering options such as gluten-free beer and hot dogs on gluten-free buns, I found last year that gluten-free refreshments are hard to find at spring training parks. And it's not looking any better this year.
I went to the Atlanta Braves' spring training home at Walt Disney World Saturday and I was thinking that if any park had gluten-free stuff, it would be this one because 1) Disney has a reputation as a very gluten-free friendly place and 2) the Braves were leaders in putting a gluten-free concession stand in their home park in Atlanta.
But alas, I found nothing. All I ate at the ballpark was a full bag of peanuts. And of course, there was no beer.
It's understandable that we can't find gluten-free goodies at spring training sites, because the games are played at minor league parks that seat 10,000 people or less. So the economics aren't there.
I guess I have to look forward to the regular season. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays put in a gluten-free stand with beer and hot dogs. And while the hot dog buns were awful, I was still happy to eat hot dogs and beer at the game.
I'm curious to see what the Miami Marlins do with their new ballpark. But apparently, the Marlins haven't even addressed major parking issues at the new stadium, so I'm not getting my hopes up that they've gotten around to gluten-free.
I'll be checking on the Marlins and making sure the Rays still have their gluten-free stands before the season starts. And as I did last year, I'll check in on the Jacksonville Suns. The Suns weren't offering gluten-free beer and dogs last year. Could this be the year?

1 comment:

  1. Mark - Bright House Field in Clearwater (where the Phillies have Spring Training) added GF hot dogs and other foods this year.

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