Life of a Concessionaire Part 2

And we're back.

Concessions is responsible for providing food at several different venues, including Munn Ice Arena, the Breslin Center, Spartan Stadium, and the Agriculture Pavilion. Fortunately for those of us who are students, the only place we work the actual stands are the Pavilion.

The people you see when you come up to buy that billion dollar large Pepsi are non-profit service groups. They work for Concessions during large events like football, basketball, hockey, volleyball, and special events like the Harlem Globetrotters. In exchange for their services, the nonprofits get to keep a percentage of the earnings from the event.

I bet your wondering "if other people are running the stands, what's your purpose in being there?" Well I'm glad you asked.

As a student employee, it is my job to count the inventory in the stands and help them in whatever way possible. This usually means I turn on all their equipment before they arrive, help them with their paperwork, fix any broken equipment, and bring them whatever they need. I also deliver inventory items during the course of the event such as pizza, cases of water,and boxes of pretzels.

The best part of the whole deal is since I don't run the stand, I'm usually in the office eating pizza & drinking pop during the event. A lot of the time I even get to watch the event; I got to see WWE Raw live when they came to the Breslin Center this past March and let em tell you it was pretty freaking sweet.

Don't get me wrong; there are downsides. Running through a large crowd with 3ft tall bags of popcorn is no fun whatsoever. I almost got jumped by the cheerleading squad during Midnight Madness this year when I walked past them with a large stack of fresh-out-the-oven pizzas. A lot of the time the nonprofits ask for stuff we students really don't want to do, like changing the pop bibs.

Its all good, though. I get a free meal every time I work an event and I've gotten to see some pretty cool things. I've gotten to watch all but two football games this season and I've seen several of last season's men's and women's basketball games. I've worked WWE Raw, Carrie Underwood, and Conan O'Brien. I've seen huge quarter horses and the most adorable puppies ever at the Agriculture Pavilion.

I guess Concessions isn't that bad. I'll take Concessions over working in the cafeteria any day...