The cost of a pint of Fosters, Heineken, Strongbow, Guinness and Harvey’s have all been held; while the price of the fans’ favourite, Piglet’s Pie, has been held for the coming season.
The price of beef burgers, hot dogs and veggie burgers remain unchanged, with a small increase on chicken burgers, to £5.50.
The club has also introduced a range of additional products, including a brisket burger (£5.50), signature hot dog (£5) and vegan roll (£4.50).
Meanwhile, the club is continuing its commitment to reducing single-use plastics, as part of the Premier League’s Pass On Plastic campaign.
Part of this includes the trial of a new paper beer cup — yes, paper — in Dick’s Bar and the outside Fanzone, and we want your feedback.
We want you to tell us what you think, via the usual channels, of the new cups, which are much kinder to the environment, fully compostable and bio-degradable.
There’s also been a significant investment into the kiosks, with new digital signage and additional faster contactless payment points to speed up service.
There is a small rise in the price of a bottle of water, but this is due to a switch to a 100% recyclable bottle — which is larger than last season’s offering, meaning the price per millilitre is actually lower.
There is also a small 10 pence per item increase on the cost of crisps, sweets, chocolate and non-alcoholic drinks.
Read more about Brighton & Hove Albion’s commitment to reducing single-use plastics
Over the past season we’ve been investigating the ways we can reduce the use of plastics across all areas of the club. There have been some simple-but-effective changes we have made across our two sites, the Amex and the training centre, but there are still areas where we are trying to further reduce use of plastics.
The easy wins, have been removing items such as plastic drinking straws, spoons and stirrers; encouraging staff to switch to reusable coffee cups and water bottles when coming to work, and offering plastic-free sanitary products as part of the On The Ball initiative the club signed up to last season.
Head of facilities David Baker explained, “To replace plastic straws with paper or plastic stirrers with wooden ones has been straightforward, and over the course of a whole season, does have a significant impact on the plastic being thrown away.
“In areas where it’s hard to avoid single-use products, where possible, we’ve moved to environmentally friendly alternatives — such as fully compostable cups, food boxes and cutlery for players’ food at the training ground, when they need to eat off site, for example, a coach trip to an away match.
“The positive thing at the Amex and the training centre, is that we are starting from a good base. We already sort and recycle all of our waste, and are at the point where there is zero waste going to landfill. It’s not easy, but we feel it’s important for the club to do that.
“Supporters can help, by disposing of items in the right way, in the right bins provided. There is still some work to do though, and we need help from the supply chain and manufacturers. Football stadiums can also present their own unique challenges, in as much as cans and bottles are not realistic alternatives, as they are prohibited by the safety advisory group.”
At the training ground, Albion’s head of medical services, Adam Brett, has switched away from smaller individual plastic bottles to larger reusable water tanks, which can then be decanted into smaller reusable bottles for the players to use, during the week and on matchdays.
He explained, “We have cut down significantly on smaller, individual plastic water bottles. We still have a practical need from time to time, but we have switched to a lightweight, fully recyclable plastic, from the very ethical Life Water company. Other products, like isotonic drinks for example, we still use the smaller plastic bottles, but we do ensure those bottles are properly recycled and don’t go to landfill.
“To make the biggest impact, we need help from the supply chain, and we will keep working with various suppliers to cut down on the use of plastics across the club.”
This season Albion will trial paper cups for beer and soft drinks, a project led by head of catering Andrew Boon. He said, “In sports venues we can’t use glass, so we have looked at various alternatives to plastic.
“The eco-cup option works well in rugby and cricket, but this is more difficult to implement in football, as the law prohibits alcohol being taken into the bowl. Most fans don’t want to carry around an empty plastic cup.
“We have also looked at schemes where we recycle plastic cups into playing equipment. This is difficult, as it involves installing a large number of separate bins right across the Amex.
“So instead, we are trialling a paper cup for beer. It still has a thin plastic lining in the vessel, but the cup is fully recyclable and 90% less plastic than a standard single-use cup. We want to trial it in Dick’s Bar and in the outside Fanzone to see what supporters think, and over the coming weeks, we will gauge opinion of fans.
“With modern day food standards, it’s a challenge. Crisps, chocolate and sweet wrappers, trays for hot food, drinks vessels all require at least an element of plastic lining, so the challenge is more on reducing the amount used in packaging and ensuring it is properly recycled.
“Fans can assist us with that, by disposing of their packaging responsibly and in the correct bins.”
We are delighted to be continuing our support for the On The Ball campaign providing feminine hygiene products free of charge on matchdays. To help with our commitment to reduce single use plastic we have changed the products available for this season to the Natracare range, and we would like to thank our suppliers Wightman and Parrish for their support with this initiative.