Concession Stands A ‘Monster Mess’ At Monster Truck Show

by Darren Hunt

EL PASO — Monster truck fans were really disappointed this weekend by the lack of customer service at the Sun Bowl’s concession stands.

Organizers said more than 50,000 people showed up for the show Saturday. Some of those who attended said they enjoyed the show but were frustrated because Sodexho, UTEP’s concessionaire, did not accept debit or credit cards.

Many customers said they had to go to ATM machines for cash and then go back to the long lines at the concession stands. Sun Bowl officials said there are only two ATM’s in the entire stadium. This resulted in a back at both the ATM’s and the stands, they said.

Customers said things got worse after the ATM machines ran out of money. As of Monday, one of the ATM’s still had an out of order sign on it.

“I would like to see them accept debit cards at the concession stands … vendors should be a little bit more organized,” said Carolina Zubia, who went to the show with her husband and three children. “People were agitated and frustrated.”

UTEP officials said they do not accept debit or credit cards at the Don Haskins Center. Victor Pacheco, UTEP’s AssistantVice Presidentfor Business Affairs, saidboth sports facilitiesare old and surrounded by mountains. This makes it difficult to get secured access to debit card systems, he said.

“We’ve been hearing some feedback and the university has been looking into getting a secured connection for the 19 concession stands we have in the Sun Bowl,” Pacheco said. “We’ll have the solution on time for football in the fall.”

In the meantime, Pachecosaid should bringplenty of cash on hand when attending events at both the Sun Bowl and the Don Haskins Center.

The situation is different at New Mexico State University, ABC 7 has learned.Officials said they do accept debit and credit cards at Aggie Memorial Stadium and the Pan American Center.