Where’s that “higher authority” when you need it?

According to an item from the JTA,

A certified kosher concession stand seems unlikely at the Orioles’ stadium for the first time since the facility opened in 1993.

Kosher Sports Inc., based in New York, confirmed to the Baltimore Jewish Times this week that it will not be returning to Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The company still runs a kosher stand for the National Football League’s Baltimore Ravens at the adjacent M & T Bank Ravens Stadium.

According to the item, it’s all about the money. I guess there weren’t enough kosher-preferring fans to warrant the stand’s prime location spot in left field; instead the plan was a simple cart on the third-base side of the stadium. But Jonathan Katz, founder and owner of Kosher Sports figured he shouldn’t be charged the same rent for an inferior position.

Katz told Aramark, concessionaire for the Orioles and the Ravens, that the contract had to be restructured, and if that could not happen, Kosher Sports “couldn’t operate here.”

A typical menu features Abeles and Heymann All Beef Hot Dogs, Abeles and Heymann All Beef Sweet Italian Sausages with Peppers and Onions, Oceanside Knish Factory Homemade Garlic Potato Knishes, Pretzels, Peanuts, Bottled Beer, Bottled Soda and Bottled Water. In addition to the food, the kiosk serves as a meeting place for davening at every game.

Basically, the O’s position was “here’s your hat, what’s your hurry.”

“They didn’t blink an eye,” Katz said. “This is a business, and we couldn’t operate at a loss.”

So if you want to buy kosher at the ballpark, you’ll have to make a road trip. Kosher Sports runs  similar setups at Citi Field, the new Mets home, Nationals Ballpark in Washington, DC, and Keyspan in Brooklyn, as well as other sports venues, including the Prudential Center in Newark.

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Kaplan’s Korner on Jews and Sports © 2009 New Jersey Jewish News

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