Hungry homestands: Plenty of work goes into keeping WooSox fans fed during a 2-week slate of games at Polar Park

WORCESTER — For generations, baseball fans have learned to expect the unexpected when enjoying a game at the ballpark.

Anything can happen on the field, and while fans focus on every pitch, they may not realize the inner workings of game-day process for the food and beverage staff at the ballpark. Those cold beers taste so good, and there’s nothing like a hot dog at the ballgame, but there’s so much that happens behind the scenes on a daily basis.

Even though Polar Park just a year old, it runs relatively smoothly in order to create the best possible experience for fans.

Alex Lilley is the director of food and beverage for Professional Sports Catering at Polar Park. The company operates in 35 venues around the country, including ballparks.

The Minor League Baseball schedule changed due to COVID-19, and now teams play six-game series. Normally it’s been one series at home, Monday off and then start the next series Tuesday on the road. The WooSox are finishing up their first of two 12-game homestands.

Even though the 2022 season is still young, the WooSox have enjoyed 10 sellouts at Polar Park. So playing 12 games in 13 days can present many challenges for the food and beverage department.

“It’s always crazy,” Lilley said. “The biggest thing is our staff makes sure everyone is happy and excited.

Lilley actually started her career as a 19-year-old college student, wrapping hot dogs and running food at the concession stands for the Reno Aces at Greater Nevada Field. It was her first job that she found on Craig’s List. She eventually graduated with a degree in nutrition and planned on becoming a dietician.

'All about the fans'

However, Lilley was offered a full-time concessions manager position in Fresno, California, and jumped at the chance. After five years on the West Coast, she transferred to Worcester to work at Polar Park.

“I can’t see myself doing anything else, to be honest,” she said. “I love what I do. I love working at a ballpark. I can’t imagine not working in minor league baseball. Going up to the big leagues doesn't do it for me. I always want to be in minor league ball for the rest of my life.”

She admits that hosting 12 consecutive games is a challenge, but her staff pulls it off as a well-built team.

“It’s all about the fans. I love walking around, seeing people with our beer bats at the Craft Corner, or the Smiley Fries, and that’s when you realize why you work in baseball,” Lilley said. “This is our office, so when you’re able to take a step back, and seeing everyone having a great time, drinking, laughing, that’s the pride we take in making sure everyone is having a fantastic time and want to come back to Polar Park.”

Communication is key. The team holds a daily day-of-game meeting, which is better known as “D.O.G” in the industry. After the general D.O.G meeting, the food and beverage staff holds its own in preparation for that night’s game. A few things factor into the amount of products prepared for a single game, including number of tickets sold and the weather.

Esteban Escobar, the purchasing manager for the WooSox, grew up in East Boston, but now lives in Marlborough, and used to work for the Boston Convention Center Authority. He was offered the position at Polar Park prior to the team’s inaugural season in 2021.

“It’s been a great experience — amazing,” he said.

A well-oiled machine

While the WooSox are trying to build a winning product on the field, the ballpark’s food and beverage department also needs to work as a team to make sure it all runs smoothly on a daily basis for the nearly 10,000 fans who attend each game at Polar Park.

It starts with early-morning deliveries to the warehouse, sorting the products, stocking each concession stand and DCU Club-level suites, before making sure it gets into the hands of fans in a safe and healthy environment.

“The main goal is to make sure the fans have a great experience,” Escobar said.

In preparation for the weekend series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 900 cases of beer arrived Friday morning. The ballpark carries nearly 90 types of beer. A total of 40 kegs also arrived for the weekend. In total, there are always 200-250 kegs on site for a homestand. Escobar said normally 20-30 kegs will kick during a weekend set of games.

Coney Island is the most popular item inside Polar Park, but its a separate entity. So on the ballpark-fare side, concession hot dogs, cheeseburgers and popcorn are the most popular items.

At all times, there are 90-100 cases of hot dogs on property, along with 100-plus cases of fries and pretzels. In fact, all products need to be restocked several times during the week.

During the hot summer days and nights, the club will go through four pallets of water for a weekend pair of games. It may appear seamless for fans, but it can be a controlled chaos behind the scenes.

Solid work ethic

“If no one can tell we’re struggling, then we’re doing our job correctly,” Escobar said. “We can deal with those issues, we can deal with those stressful situations, because that’s what we do. Food and beverage is very tough, it’s ever changing and stressful. It’ll give you a panic attack here and there, but we keep coming back to it because we love it. We love the hustle. We love the work ethic.”

The staff does an incredible job and Escobar’s top priority is key: “I pride myself on making sure that nothing runs out in this ballpark.”

The beer bats are another popular souvenir item new to the ballpark this season. The team ordered 7,000 of the plastic yards for beer, and already has 3,200.

It doesn’t help that supply chains around the world are struggling with getting products due to COVID-19 the last two years, but local vendors have been extremely accommodating.

Food and beverage normally runs with the help of 250-300 people per season at Polar Park, but PSC currently has 175 employees at Polar Park and in need of more help, especially with the summer months quickly approaching.

For more information, go to compassgroupcareers.com to apply for positions.

Restaurants welcome

Another aspect that’s been successful at Polar Park is the Taste of Worcester on Summit Street. It’s been a popular addition to the Polar Park experience. A local restaurant takes over the spot behind the Worcester Wall for an entire six-game series.

This week it has been Chashu Ramen.

“It’s a great initiative,” owner Tam Lee said. “The WooSox have been looking for so many different ways to incorporate the community and this is awesome.”

Since it’s Asian American Pacific Island Heritage Month, Chashu Ramen will donate all of its proceeds from this weekend’s sales from Taste of Worcester at Polar Park to a pair of local nonprofits.

“It’s a great time to come to Polar Park and also support local Asian nonprofit,” Lee said. “The Southeast Asian Coalition is just amazing. They do so much for the community and we love supporting them.”

The WooSox appreciate the act of kindness.

“It’s pretty incredible,” Lilley said. “They’re great people.”

So next time while attending a WooSox game at Polar Park, remember the process it takes to get that frosty beverage in your hand. And enjoy.

Contact Joe McDonald at JMcDonald2@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeyMacHockey

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Plenty of work goes into keeping Worcester Red Sox fans fed during a 2-week slate of games at Polar Park