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Clean up the Colesium concessions
MediaNews editorial
May 12, 2008
THE OAKLAND A'S might be winning on the field, but according to a report, the team is striking out big time at the concession stands.
In the June issue of Portfolio magazine, the home of the Athletics, McAfee Coliseum, is rated the second filthiest facility in Major League Baseball. Only Angels Stadium in Anaheim, home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, had a worse record with a mind-boggling 732 health code violations in 2007 which included a cockroach infestation in the Stadium Club kitchen in August and a major vermin violation in April that shut down a food stand.
The Coliseum's record for 2007 isn't that pretty either. There were a staggering 493 reported health code violations throughout the stadium's concession stands.
The magazine's conclusion was the A's and the Angels "had far more food fouls than any other team. While some were minor, some were, well, disgusting.''
That's pretty obvious particularly when you see the findings at the Coliseum, such as food being exposed to "overhead leakage, dirt, insects, rodents and chemical contamination." In October, food inspectors found insects and rodents in food because of poor food storage.
This is embarrassing. The Coliseum should be the crown jewel of facilities in the East Bay, and to allow concessions to deteriorate this badly shows a complete disregard for the fans and no pride toward putting out a quality product.
In fact, in an area such as New York that supposedly has a bad reputation for health code violations, Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium had a combined 103 health code violations in 2007, according to Portfolio. What does that say about the Coliseum?
We hope this report is a wake-up call to Coliseum officials as to how the facility is measured across the country.
It's a bad situation that needs to be cleaned up immediately. If Yankee Stadium can keep it to 45 violations in one year, the Coliseum can certainly do the same, if not better.
A clean shop is what A's fans pay for, and that's what they should get.
Copyright 2008
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