Earlier this season, Oracle Park became one of six ballparks to offer this stunt food item, offering nine mini dogs and nine “flight-sized” glasses of beer in home team-themed packaging as a nod to the viral food challenge. But many fans criticized the offering as the actual 9-9-9 challenge involves nine full-sized hot dogs and full beers, while the concession item didn’t even offer enough beer to properly fill all nine small souvenir glasses. It cost $54.99 plus tax and tip.
Those who might have been curious to see this controversial concession up close are no longer able to. An SFGATE reporter went to Oracle Park on Saturday and went to the center field concessions stand where the Giants were selling the 9-9-9 item earlier in the season. The item wasn’t on the digital menu at all, and there was no promotional signage to be found anywhere. The Oracle Park “Food Finder” in the MLB Ballpark app says, “The 9-9-9 Challenge is currently sold out.”
It isn’t exactly clear when the Giants officially sold out of the 9-9-9 challenge. One reader emailed SFGATE earlier this month saying the ballpark didn’t have the item when he went there on April 8 — the final game of the Phillies series and just the 11th home game (exhibition and regular season) at Oracle Park this season.
This could have simply been a case of the Giants saving some for the next homestand, when the Dodgers came to town. But while there were plenty of social media posts of people showing themselves buying the 9-9-9 challenge in the first homestand of the season, there haven’t been any posts of the challenge box in a few weeks.
Whether this is the end of the concession item — shut down by fan blowback — or just a temporary inventory shortage is not exactly clear as the Giants did not respond to questions about this product by time of publication.