When fans snack on nachos at the United Center or grab a hotdog at Wrigley, they're eating from some of the cleanest food vendors in the country.
Three out of four of Chicago’s sports stadiums received no critical health violations at their yearly inspection, according to an ESPN analysis of health inspection reports.
Soldier Field was the only venue to receive any violations, most of them for lack of hot water. But the home of the Bears didn’t fare too badly -- only 12% of the vendors were found with the violation. The United Center, U.S. Cellular Field and Wrigley Field were all in the clear.
Nationwide, two stadiums had 100% of their vendors guilty of critical violations. Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay had dirty countertops, utensils and equipment and the Verizon Center in the District of Columbia was cited for mice drippings at at least 10 vendors.
It’s worth noting that Chicago health inspectors conducted their examination while the stadiums were empty and no employees were preparing food. Such was not the case in other cities.
Still, the results speak volumes about the conditions of public health in Chicago.
“The results speak for themselves,” Chicago Department of Public Health spokesman Tim Hadic told ESPN. “In the 20 and a half years since I started at CDPH, I can’t recall a confirmed outbreak of a disease linked to a sports stadium in Chicago.”
That calls for a hotdog.
