When the couple attended an Idaho Steelheads minor league hockey game in Boise’s CenturyLink Arena, they found that the ‘regular’ size beer they bought actually held the same volume of brew as the ‘large’ size. They decided to shoot and post a video demonstrating that the $4 regular beer (listed as 16 oz.) nearly filled the entire $7 large beer cup (listed as 20 oz.). In the video Gibbs can be heard off camera saying, “It’s the same beer. Seven dollars, you just get a taller cup.”
When asked by KBOI 2 News if the beer size inaccuracy was a rip-off, Eric Trapp, President of the Idaho Steelheads and CenturyLink Arena said, "You know it’s certainly not intended to be a rip off. We ordered 16-ounce cups and 20-ounce cups, unfortunately, you know the volume of the 20 ounce fits into the 16 ounce. Unfortunately, we didn't know that."
The YouTube video has over 200,000 views and some of those views are apparently from officials at the CenturyLink Arena. After being notified of the video and the concession discrepancy Trapp issued a statement on the hockey team’s Facebook page. The statement read in part, “The differentiation in the size of the two cups is too small. To correct that problem, we’re purchasing new cups for the large beers that will hold 24 ounces, instead of 20, for the remainder of this season to provide better value to our fans.”
Still, CenturyLink Arena visitors would get more value by purchasing the regular size beer at $0.25/oz. versus the new large size, which is about $0.29/oz.
This isn’t the first brewhaha started by a sports fan's beer discovery. Back in January 2011, a Seattle Seahawks fan sparked “Beergate” when they also found that the 16 oz. beers sold at Quest Field held the same amount of suds as the 20 oz. First & Goal, the company that manages the stadium, found that both cups actually held 20 oz. of liquid. However, as a goodwill gesture at the next game they decided to offer 20 oz. beers at the 16 oz. price.
As for the CenturyLink controversy, Gibbs and Forsey say they’re happy with the efforts made by the arena officials. Gibbs told KBOI, "I really just wanted a change to happen and them to, you know, kind of realize that what they were doing was ripping off the folks. So, I'm really happy with the change and how fast they put it into place." Forsey added, "I'm not out to cause any problems or anything, you know. Just kinda funny."
