Hot Dog is MVP of Stadium Concessions

WASHINGTONAlthough many stadium concession menus have gone upscale, the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council's 2011 annual report released today on Major League Baseballs Opening Day reveals that the hot dog continues to be the favorite food at the ballpark.

The NHDSC predicts ballparks around the country will dish up 22,435,400 hot dogs this season, enough to round the bases 31,160 times. That number represents an increase of 5-percentor 1 million hot dogsover 2010. The NHDSC also anticipates ballparks will sell 5,161,370 sausages this year, more than 227,000 than in 2010, an increase of 4.6 percent.

Dodger Stadium, home of the Los Angeles Dodgers, tops the list this year, dethroning two-time champion Fenway Park in Boston. Dodger Stadium is expected to serve 2 million hot dogs during the 2011 season. Moving into second place is New York's Yankee Stadium, where fans are expected to consume 1.62 million hot dogs this season. Rounding out the top three is Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies, where fans are expected to eat 1.5 million hot dogs.

"Major League ballparks today offer some of the most extensive menu and food options of anywhere in the country," said Tom Super, spokesman for the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council. "Yet these numbers once again confirm the hot dog is MVP of stadium concessions. The increase in projected consumption is a positive sign that as our economy slowly starts to turn around, people are heading back to the ballpark to catch baseball gamesand to grab a hot dog, of course. The hot dog is a great economic indicator."

When it comes to sausage, the Milwaukee Brewers once again hit a grand slam. More than 900,000 sausages are projected to be served at Miller Park, which is the only MLB stadium where sausages outsell hot dogs. The Minnesota Twins moved up to the No. 2 spot and is expected to sell approximately 500,000 sausages at Target Field. Finishing third, and slipping from second place is U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox, with 345,000 projected in sausage sales.