Hot dog vendors' future in flux at Oakland Coliseum

OAKLAND, Calif. - Hot dog vendors selling bacon-wrapped links with grilled onions and peppers – a mainstay outside sporting events in the Bay Area – may soon be restricted from the Oakland Coliseum parking lot.

The Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority said there are too many vendors crowding spaces needed for walkways and creating serious safety concerns.

According to The Oaklandside, the public agency, is cracking down on un-permitted vendors.

"The vendors block the spaces in front of, behind, and besides the parked vehicles," the agency's executive director Henry Gardner wrote in his report to the board, making it hard for people to get out if there was an emergency, and potentially difficult for first responders to get in. "We are very concerned that if a fire breaks out, we will have the potential for serious injuries."

Gardner said the number of vendors have increased since the start of the pandemic and none of the vendors are operating with permits, violating the state health standards. 

Vendors must obtain a permit from the Alameda County Department of Environmental Health, which cost $500.

"They don't need to crackdown on all these people out here just trying to make a living," said Oakland A's fan Joanie Germignani. "It's expensive to live in the Bay Area."

Opponents of the move say they want the Coliseum Authority to make it easier for the vendors to get permits, instead of kicking them out. 

"That's crazy," said Oakland A's fan Richard Griffin Jr. "Let the guys sell their hot dogs and give the fans another opportunity to do something fun at the ballpark."

"I think it's part of the game," Frank Gemignani of Oakland said. "It's always been here. I love it. The food's great."

During Wednesday's midday ballgame, only one vendor was in the parking lot serving up bacon-wrapped dogs. He said inside the Coliseum hot dogs cost $20 where his only cost $6.

Gardner said in recent weeks police have educated and urged vendors to get permits. 

"It's not a crackdown at all. We haven't issued any citations," said Gardner. "We have really been trying to find a sensitive, compassionate but safe way to manage this."

Several Coliseum workers told KTVU that over the past year, vendors pack into the parking lot creating traffic troubles and issues for people with disabilities.

Garner said a permanent fix is still in the works but it may require limiting the number of vendors on the property in addition to a permit.

"Patrons want them so that's not this issue," he said. "The issue is managing them and being bale to have a secure and safe parking area so in the event of an emergency people can get out."