Liquid Gold

Arturo Moreno, baseball's newest owner (right), is a living
saint. In one of his first moves since purchasing the Angels for
$180 million, he ordered the price of beer to be slashed. "Beer
in the bleachers is $8.50," he said, speaking of the premium
18-ouncer. "I can go around the corner and get one for a buck and
a half."

Ever wonder how a ballpark arrives at its avant-garde beer
prices? We asked the Angels and their concessionaire, Aramark,
and this is what they told us: Go away. So we spoke to industry
experts to estimate how a 24-ounce serving of domestic brew could
wind up costing $7 at Edison Field.

COST TO CONCESSIONAIRE: 80 cents
COST OF PLASTIC CUP: 10 cents
STATE TAX (7.25%): 50 cents
OVERHEAD AND PROFIT: $5.60, split about 60-40 between the
concessionaire and the team

But now Moreno has spoken, and that $8.50 beer is $6.75 and the
$7 brew is $6.25. Will this hurt the Angels' profits, or will the
billionaire owner sell more and do better this way? "It's a
gamble," said Dan Migala of Team Marketing Report. "Everybody
wants lower prices, but no one wants to take a hit in the
wallet." --Julia Morrill

COLOR PHOTO: ED BETZ /AP (MORENO)

COLOR PHOTO: PETE SOUZA (BEER)