High cost of convention center food draws heated response

The price of water, soda and pretzels at the new David L. Lawrence Convention Center are higher in most cases than prices at four comparable convention centers.

In St. Louis, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Louisville, a 20-ounce soda costs $3 or less; in Pittsburgh, soda costs $3.25. A 16-ounce bottle of water in the other cities costs $2.50 or less at three other convention centers; in Pittsburgh, it's $2.75. For a soft pretzel, visitors to other convention halls pay $3, at most. Here, it's $3.50.

Those attending the Pittsburgh center's RV Show this week said they noticed the prices.

"I had to get something to eat, I was starving, but I didn't expect it would cost so much," said Brenda Snyder of Evans City, Butler County.

State Sen. Jack Wagner, a Beechview Democrat, raised the issue of high concession prices on Wednesday. He has asked Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy and Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey to lower the prices of convention center food and beverages to that of neighboring businesses. A city-county authority owns the center.

Wagner said the high prices will affect locals flocking to events such as the Home & Garden Show booked in between the big conventions for out-of-towners.

A concession manager at the Cincinnati Convention Center said he was shocked at the prices at the Pittsburgh center.

"That's a crime for the everyday person," said Bruce Breitholle, who manages concessions at the Cincinnati facility for Philadelphia-Based Aramark Corp.

Convention-goers in Cincinnati pay $2 for a soft pretzel, $1.50 less than in Pittsburgh. The $2.50 cost of a soda is 75 cents less than a 20-ounce bottle at the Pittsburgh center.

Breitholle said prices at convention centers and stadiums tend to be higher because those facilities aren't open every day, "so prices do need to be higher than at the mall."

Aramark operates the food and beverage concessions at Heinz Field and at PNC Park, which were partly financed with taxpayer money and where fans pay $2.25 for a hot dog and $2.75 or more for a bottle of water.

Taxpayers covered $328 million of the estimated $365 million cost of the convention center and, unlike at the sports stadiums, must cover operating deficits also.

Roddey said he will ask Sports & Exhibition Authority chief Steve Leeper to study snack prices at the convention center compared to facilities in cities of similar size to Pittsburgh. The SEA, a city-county agency, owns and operates the convention center.

Leeper said he will respond to Roddey and Wagner, but will take a few days to study the issue. He said a response should be released by next week.

Wagner has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate this year for county chief executive. Roddey, a Republican, hasn't yet said whether he will run for reelection. The primary is in May.

Roddey said while snack prices do "seem a little high to me," he added the convention center has to try to cover its costs. Otherwise, city and county taxpayers will be forced to cover bigger deficits. "You can pay now, or pay later," he said.

Joseph Williams III, vice chairman of the SEA's board of directors, said the authority has bigger issues than "a hot dog costing a dollar more than the one down the street."

"Our concern right now is the debt we have and the number of challenges to get the convention center completed," Williams said. "We're more preoccupied with getting the car rental tax passed (by the Legislature). Maybe (Wagner) can help us out in that area, rather than what a hot dog costs."

A 3 percent tax on car rentals would provide $3.5 million annually to help finance a hotel near the convention center and to cover the center's projected annual operating deficits.

People on limited budgets can find ways to skirt the high price of drinks and snacks at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

There are drinking fountains — 24 on four floors. There are plans to add water coolers inside the entrances to exhibit halls on the first and second floors, said Mark Leahy, the center's general manager.

Plus, Leahy said, the convention center doesn't have a formal policy about bringing in small amounts of food.

"If a family brought in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for their kids, it's no big deal," he said. "However, if you call Domino's and order 50 pizzas, that's a big deal."

Staff writers Ellen James and Gregor McGavin contributed to this report.