TUCSON, Ariz. – Sports arenas have long been known as havens of junk food.

Things are no different in McKale Center, the home of the UA men’s basketball team and other Wildcat squads where hot dogs, nachos, peanuts and popcorn make up some of the most popular food sold at concession stands.

According to Brett Brestel, the UA division manager for concessions, most fans who dine in McKale Center aren't concerned with eating green or keeping up with the latest health trends, and instead desire more traditional arena fare.

“That’s pretty much what it is,” Brestel said. “You see these 80-year-old girls and guys that go up to the stands and they’re buying the hot dogs over the carrot dippers. It’s almost like it’s a break from their regular menu. They go to the ballgame to enjoy themselves and eat stuff they may not eat normally during the week.”

That’s not to say the McKale concessions stands make no effort to offer healthier food. In addition to the aforementioned carrot dippers – which Brestel said have sold better than expected at 30-40 per hoops game – they also offer grilled chicken and use canola oil to cook fried food.

Despite the healthier fare, compared to venues whose primary concern is delivering a well-balanced meal, McKale comes up short.

Brestel said this is a result of the concession industry in general, where the main objective is to offer “a pretty limited menu” in order to get people back to their seats as fast as possible.

“They’re here to watch the ballgame, not stand in line,” Brestel said.

He added that teams like those in Major League Baseball, who play 81 home games per season, have the opportunity to offer bigger menus, but with the UA men’s hoops team playing just 17 home contests, McKale concessions focus on the “core items.”

However, even the healthier options in pro baseball don’t always work, as Brestel said he heard the Los Angeles Dodgers used to offer tofu, “and it just died.”

But some UA fans would eat healthy at games if that were an option.

Corey Kesluk, a freshman who attended Arizona’s Feb. 28 game against USC, often gets a hot dog or sometimes shares a pizza when he watches a game in McKale.

“It is like typical arena food, but I probably would like something healthy,” he said. “They have carrots, but that’s not enough.”

UA sophomore Sarah David agreed, saying she would also like McKale to serve healthier food.

David attends every men’s basketball game and gets food every time, often her usual of a polish sausage, a pretzel and a medium Cherry Pepsi, food that she chooses in part because she can buy them with her university meal plan.

She said she understands Brestel’s thinking about what people want to eat at an arena but thinks a healthy twist would be even better.

“Every once in a while you’ve just got to have the game hot dog, and sometimes it’s kind of fun,” she said, “but at the same time, like I wouldn’t want to eat like a salad or something, but if they could have like a wrap that would be just as easy to eat, I would eat that instead.”

While it seems as though traditional arena food holds court, McKale leaves room for improvement.

“[For now,] they want the hot dogs,” Brestel said. “It might be changing, though, so we’re always experimenting with different items.”