These Baseball Stadiums Let You Bring Your Own Snacks
Pack a lunch at home before heading to the ballpark.
Baseball season is long. This week kicked off opening day at stadiums across the country, and the regular season is slated to end on October 5—that's six straight months of America's favorite pastime. It's great news for baseball fans, who get to really soak up every minute, but might be bad news for your wallet if you're not only shelling out money on tickets to games but also trying to eat and drink while you're there.
While there are some cheap in-stadium options for you to get your hot dog and beer fix, we're here to remind you that at least 24 of the 30 ballparks across the country allow you to bring food from home. We just want you to know that you have options!
Which baseball stadiums prohibit outside food?
All baseball stadiums allow you to bring at least one sealed plastic water bottle, so you should be able to stay reasonably hydrated no matter where you go. Outside alcohol or already opened drink containers are banned from ballparks across the board.
There are some parks that straight up prohibit any outside food—if you have a medical condition that may require you to eat, I suggest calling ahead to see if they make exceptions to that policy. Otherwise, sorry to fans of these two teams, but you've either got to chow down beforehand or bite the bullet on those in-park concession prices:
- Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park
- Miami Marlins, LoanDepot Park
Which baseball stadiums allow outside food?
There are a few stadiums that fall in a gray area: While they don't prohibit outside food, they don't explicitly say that it's allowed either. For these spots, I'd opt for something small and in a clear sandwich bag, just so you can be ready to prove that it's not an illicit item, but nothing so big or fancy that you'd be sad to toss it. A baggie of pretzels or baby carrots or orange slices might be best.
Pack snacks cautiously for:
- Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park
- Kansas City Royals, Kauffman Stadium
- New York Mets, Citi Field
- Philadelphia Phillies, Citizens Bank Park
- Arizona Diamondbacks, Chase Field
- Atlanta Braves, Truist Park
- Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park
- Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field
- Chicago White Sox, Guaranteed Rate Field
- Cleveland Guardians, Progressive Field
- Cincinnati Reds, Great American Ballpark
- Colorado Rockies, Coors Field
- Houston Astros, Minute Maid Park
- Los Angeles Angels, Angels Stadium
- Los Angels Dodgers, Dodgers Stadium
- Milwaukee Brewers, American Family Field
- Minnesota Twins, Target Field
- New York Yankees, Yankees Stadium
- Oakland Althetics, RingCentral Coliseum
- Pittsburgh Pirates, PNC Park
- San Diego Padres, Petco Park
- San Francisco Giants, Oracle Park
- Seattle Mariners, T-Moble Park
- St. Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium
- Tampa Bay Rays, Tropicana Field
- Texas Rangers, Globe Life Field
- Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Centre
- Washington Nationals, Nationals Park
For the remaining stadiums that do allow you to bring in food, be sure to check the bag policy first (those can easily be found on individual team pages at the MLB website). A lot of the conditions surrounding what you can and can't bring into the ballpark have to do with the material the food is brought in—for example, no glass containers, no coolers, see-through bags only, must comply with the sizing guidelines in the bag policy, etc.
All stadiums ask that you only eat outside food in your seat, rather than bringing it into suites or other on-site dining establishments. And if you do want to bring in, say, an apple, most places require you to have that piece of fruit or veg sectioned and sliced to ensure there's no funny business.
Just a reminder, here are the remaining parks where outside food is a-okay:
So pack up some popcorn, a couple of sandwiches, and some sliced citrus for good measure. Throughout the year you'll have plenty of chances to splurge on ballpark concessions, so it's always nice to feel like you saved some money on a few visits.