Michael McLoone-Imagn Images
There’s something about eating a hot dog at a baseball game that makes those tubes of meat hit different, and the Brewers recently took advantage by launching a new promotion that lets fans get a free one at every contest they attend. However, it was greeted with some backlash after people who signed up discovered they still had to pay sales tax on each purchase.
Hot dogs might not be mentioned alongside peanuts and Cracker Jacks in “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” but they’ve firmly earned a spot on the Mount Rushmore of beloved ballpark food (I’d argue ice cream served in tiny helmets should round out the quartet, but that topic is definitely up for debate).
Chris von der Ahe, a German immigrant who moved to St. Louis in the 1870s, is widely credited for popularizing the sale of hot dogs at baseball games after he purchased the team that was then known as the Brown Stockings and is currently the Cardinals; some historians assert concessions magnate Harry M. Stevens was actually the catalyst, but both men helped engrain them in America’s Game by the time the 20th century rolled around.
MLB stadiums collectively sell more than 20 million hot dogs each year, and that certainly adds up when you consider they were peddled for an average price of around $6 last season.
That can also add up if you’re a fan who attends a fair number of games and decides to treat yourself to one whenever you go to the ballpark, and the Milwaukee Brewers recently gave anyone who checks that box a golden opportunity by launching the “Hot Dog Club” that gives participants the chance to get a free one every single time they attended a game at American Family Field by forking over $59.99 to join (a fee that also covers the cost of a hat denoting their membership).
However, fans who decided to take advantage initially encountered a somewhat unexpected surprise when they went to redeem their vouchers at one of the concession stands that forced them to fork over the money to cover the sales tax on each hot dog—an issue that the Brewers addressed due to the complaints they received after the Hot Dog Club Era began last Friday.
We were made aware of the sales tax issue during Friday’s Hot Dog Club launch. We have since implemented a fix to ensure sales tax is not charged to Hot Dog Club members upon redemption
— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) May 6, 2025
You could argue there’s really nothing more American than having to pay tax on a hot dog at a baseball game, but it’s good to see they got it sorted out.