The NBA game-day experience is packed full of excitement, with fast-paced on-court competitiveness at its core. So, to wash down the elation, countless fans often turn to the old familiars – beer and a hotdog! But which major league basketball venue is the best fo foodies?

Comparing the number of food and drink stands per square foot and 10,000 seats, as well as the average cost of beer and hotdogs at each venue, we’ve ranked and revealed the most and least expensive NBA teams for foodies!

The best NBA stadiums for foodies

Taking top spot as the best NBA stadium for food enthusiasts, we have the home of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Scoring an astonishing 3.493 out of 5 on our index, Paycom Center has more concession stands per 100,000 sq. ft. (12.39) - and per 10,000 seats (39.55) - than any other NBA venue, while Thunder fans have among the most affordable beer ($0.38 per oz.) and hotdogs ($5.50).

Next up, the Charlotte Hornets’ Spectrum Center is the second-best NBA venue for foodies, scoring a sensational 3.122. Their high ranking is largely aided by the stadium receiving a positive sentiment score of 67% - the fourth highest of all locations – and selling some of the cheapest hotdogs ($4).

Taking third, we have the Footprint Center, home of the Phoenix Suns – scoring a very respectable 2.801 out of 5. Despite having just 5 concession stands per 100,000 sq. ft., the Suns’ stadium sells affordable $5 hotdogs and earns a better-than-average supporter sentiment score (55%).

In fourth, we have the Memphis Grizzlies and the FedEx Forum, scoring 2.699, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (2.697). While the Cavs boast the NBA’s cheapest beer, at just $0.33 per oz., the Grizzlies have almost 25 concession stands per 10,000 seats (vs the NBA average, of 20.22).

Which NBA stadiums have still some work to do to appeal to foodies?

At the other end of the table, despite recent Championship success, it’s not all good news for fans of the Denver Nuggets! In fact, the Ball Arena is officially the worst venue for fans hoping for quick and affordable drinks and snacks. Scoring a measly 0.970 out of 5, the Nuggets’ home stadium has the second-fewest concession stands per 100,000 sq. ft. (1.78) and the fewest per 10,000 seats (6.15).

Ranking similarly-poorly, the Brooklyn Nets and Orlando Magic score 1.185 and 1.236, respectively, thanks to their torrid showing across our index. In fact, no major league basketball team has a worse concession stand-per-square-foot-ratio than Magic’s Kia Center (1.49 stands per 100,000 sq. ft.), while the Nets’ Barclays Center sells some of the NBA’s most expensive hotdogs ($7.25) and beer ($0.81 per oz.).

Joining the Nuggets, Nets, and Magic at the foot of our index, we have the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, and Miami Heat, who each record scores below 1.5 out of 5. Meanwhile, though they might’ve dominated the court over the last decade, the Golden State Warriors haven’t upped their food and drink game in equal measure – they just miss out on a bottom five ranking, with an index score of 1.530.

Which NBA venues have the priciest food and drink?

We’ve had a look at the best (and worst) NBA venues for accessible food and drink, but what about when we look exclusively at the price of major league favorites: beer and hotdogs?

The NBA’s most expensive beer

Ranking the NBA’s most expensive drinks, two teams tie for top! Costing $1.08 per oz., you’ll find the costliest beer at the Golden State Warriors’ Chase Center and Boston Celtics’ TD Garden. No other stadium charges more than a dollar per ounce!

Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets ($0.92) have the third-most expensive beer, ahead of New York pair the Knicks ($0.86) and Nets ($0.81). Ranking joint-sixth, with the average beer at their respective venues costing a hefty $0.75 per oz., we have the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks.

Trailing, the Milwaukee Bucks ($0.72), Miami Heat ($0.70), and Portland Trail Blazers ($0.69) take seventh to ninth, while the Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, and Los Angeles Lakers round out our top ten with each charging $0.69 per ounce of beer.

At the other end of our list, the Cleveland Cavaliers ($0.33) have the cheapest beverages in the NBA – you can get three beers at the Cavs for the cost of one at the Warriors - alongside the Oklahoma City Thunder ($0.38), Detroit Pistons ($0.42), and Atlanta Hawks ($0.42).

The NBA’s most expensive hotdogs

Similarly, we’ve also looked at the NBA’s costliest hotdogs! And unsurprisingly, the Knicks and Warriors charge above and beyond for food (as well as drinks), with hotdogs costing $9 and $8.50 at each of the teams’ respective stadiums.

However, with the third-most expensive snacks, we have a new name in the Washington Wizards – their beer may be relatively mid-priced, but hotdogs here are a mind-blowing $7.56. Following closely behind, the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat charge $7.50, while the Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz also charge at least $7.

At the other end of the table, the San Antonio Spurs offer the cheapest hotdogs of all NBA franchises, with each priced at an affordable $2.75. You can buy three hotdogs at the Spurs for the cost of one at the Knicks!

And that concludes our list of the most (and least) expensive NBA teams and venues for favorite mid-game refreshments! Are you surprised by any of our rankings?

Of course, a team’s success isn’t measured in its concession availability; it’s on-court ability that really sets a team apart. And with the NBA Playoffs just around the corner, we’re starting to think about who might lift the Championship trophy in June. In the meantime, explore all the latest NBA odds, or discover even more NBA news and insight.

Methodology

This dataset ranks all NBA stadiums, based on how affordable and accessible they are for food lovers.

Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalized, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalized values were then summed, to give each stadium a total score out of 5. The stadiums were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores. 

To do this, 5 different factors were used.

• Number of food and drink stands per 100,000 sq. ft.
• Number of food and drinks stands per 10,000 seats.
• Beer Price - The price of 1 oz. of beer in each stadium (high values get a low index score)
• Hotdog Price - The price of a hotdog in each stadium (high values get a low index score)
• Positive Sentiment - The percentage of positive social media posts between 1 Jan 23 - 31 Jan 24 using the prompt "{Stadium Name} food".

All data is correct as of 31/01/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regard to the sources provided.