

Etihad Stadium — whose caterer is Delaware North — is yet to unveil prices for the 2015 football season, but its 2014 prices do not compare favourably to the new MCG menu. The MCG's new hot chips price is $4, quite literally 'cheap as chips' next to the Docklands' ground's 2014 cost of $6.60. Etihad's bottled water cost $5 last year, $2 dearer than it will soon be. Etihad has indicated an announcement on cheaper food is imminent, and has already lifted its longtime ban on bringing commercially prepapred food into the ground. "Our chief executive Paul Sergeant has had a number of discussions with (AFL chief excecutive) Gill McLachlan, and we'll be making an announce shortly before the start of the season," a stadium spokesman said. AFL Fans' Association president Gerry Eeman praised the MCG for its move. "It's really good because it shows that finally someone's listening."

The MCG has lowered food and drink prices. Credit:Daniel Cherny He also suggested that Etihad would be forced to think twice about how much it lowered prices. "I'm sure they've done their maths in terms of how they're going to reduce prices but if they were intending to only fractionally reduce prices this will put pressure on them to reduce them more significantly." MCC chief executive Stephen Gough said the price drop was an "unrivalled initiative in the venue industry". "In fact, we are reasonably confident that no major venue or sporting event in the world, other than perhaps Augusta National Golf Course, has or can match what we are offering today," he said.

Gough said that the changes would annually cause a "$2 million hit to the profit of both the MCC and Epicure". Both parties described the move as a "reinvestment." "I hope it makes families happier while they're at the MCG," Gough said. "We don't need market research to tell us, we know what fans think about coming to the MCG." "This has been an area of much comment."

The price of food and beverages at the football has long been a point of consternation for the AFL, with Gillon McLachlan flagging that he would seek to reduce the costs associated with attending games after assuming the top role midway through 2014. Gough believed the league would greet the announcement positively. "The AFL would be very pleased. I haven't spoken to Gill - I gave him a heads-up earlier by email." While he acknowledged that cheaper food could lead to greater sales, Gough said there was no guarantee. "Our sales have been very strong, so people have enjoyed (the food) even though they'd like to pay at a lesser prices." He would not speculate on whether other stadia would be forced to lower their own prices as a result of the news. "What other stadiums do is not my business, what AFL and cricket do with other stadiums is not my business."

Spotless' general manager of leisure, sport and entertainment Ian Delmenico said that this was a landmark day for his organisation. "This is an iconic contract for us," he said. "Part of the commercial contract with the MCC has always been to invest in the business." Delmenico indicated that discussions with the MCC had been in place for several months. He added that Spotless would now approach other stadia for whom it caters, including Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, and major New Zealand venues Eden Park and Westpac Stadium, with a view to initiating similar deals.