Freedom Grill Kicks Off Tailgate Season with Tailgater Survey Results

Business Wire, August 5, 2008

SAN DIEGO -- August is here and so is football. Pre-season games kicked off August 3rd and the start of football means Tailgating. Tailgating Times estimates that nearly 70 million Americans will attend the "party in the parking lot" this year before NFL and NCAA football games and that's not even counting the incredible tailgating that goes on during NASCAR weekends.

As sports fans gear up for the season leading tailgate grill manufacturer Freedom Grill, along with tailgate blog, TailgatingTimes.com, announces the results of a two year survey of tailgate grill buyers. The survey turned up some interesting results.

Tailgating is growing across multiple sports.

Tailgaters are varied in their allegiances with NFL and NCAA Football nearly tied for first place at the top of the list. Surprisingly tailgating before High School Sports and Concerts ranked almost as high as baseball.

* 53% tailgate at NFL games

* 52% tailgate for NCAA Football

* 30% tailgate at NASCAR events

* 22% tailgate before Major League Baseball games

* 20% tailgate for Concerts

* 19% tailgate High School Sports

* 3% tailgate NBA games

Beef is the parking lot champion.

Steaks reigned supreme as favorite tailgating food with 34% of the vote in a category with answers that ranged from bacon wrapped scallops and buffalo to hamburgers and hotdogs, which just missed making the top 5:

* 34.4% of tailgaters chose Steak as their favorite tailgating food

* 27.7% prefer Burgers

* 12.8% prefer Bratwurst

* 11.9% prefer Chicken

* 11.9% prefer Ribs

Who's firing up the grill?

Tailgating and grilling have traditionally been men's territory so it's no revelation that 90% of tailgate grill buyers are male. These are dedicated grillers.

* 78% grill 2 or more times a month and 22% grill at least twice a week

* 90% own at least 2 grills

* 94% have been grilling for years or consider themselves "Grill Masters"

* 79% are between the ages of 25 and 54

* 92% own their own homes

* 87% are in households of 2 or more people

* 53% have college degrees or higher

Versatility is key.

While it's no surprise that 77% percent of the people purchasing a grill deemed "The Official Grill of Tailgating" plan to use it for tailgating it is interesting to note that 53% of the purchasers intend to use their tailgating grill for camping and 39% percent plan to use it for picnics. Even more surprising is the 15% that plan to use the grill for boating.

The Commissioner of Tailgating, Joe Cahn, is excited about tailgating growth. "Tailgating gets bigger every year because of the sense of community. It's become the 'New American Social,' the last great neighborhood. More people are participating and more people are learning ways to tailgate better and with gas prices going up and ticket prices rising it's great to know that no matter what you put on the grill from hamburgers to lobsters you're going to have a great time."

About Freedom Grill

Freedom Grill, Inc. designs and markets innovative products and accessories for the tailgating, camping and outdoor activities markets. Headquartered in Poway, California, the company's pioneering barbecues are recognized by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office as "The Official Grill of Tailgating." Freedom Grill products are sold through specialty BBQ, sporting goods, and hardware retailers. For more information visit www.freedomgrill.com.