By Paige Trendell

University of Maryland students can now use Dining Dollars to purchase non-alcoholic concessions at the Xfinity Center and SECU Stadium — an initiative to improve the fan experience, according to Joe LaBue, the deputy athletic director and chief revenue officer of Maryland Athletics. 

Dining Dollars are a form of prepaid currency used to purchase food and goods at convenience shops, cafes and restaurants on campus.  

LaBue said students will be able to purchase concessions with Dining Dollars at football games in the fall.

“We’re fairly certain that really any athletics location where concessions are served, they’ll be able to use their Dining Dollars, but right now, the focus is on Xfinity Center and SECU Stadium,” LaBue said.

He said the planning process started in the fall semester after a Maryland Athletics assessment of game elements and fan attendance. 

“A lot of people would consider the wins and losses being the most important thing, but we prefer to take a look at it as ‘Okay, what can we do outside of wins and losses? How do we better the fan experience?’” he said. 

Concession costs stood out as a barrier to students’ participation. LaBue said UMD Dining Services mentioned that students often leave games at halftime to eat at the dining hall. 

Ben Barish, a freshman enrolled in letters and sciences who likes to attend lacrosse games, is one of those students. 

“I’ve left games early to go to the food hall because I don’t want to pay for how expensive the food is,” he said. 

Barish said that he is more likely to stay at lacrosse games now that he can purchase concessions with dining dollars. 

Senior psychology and criminology double major Archu Sathiya did not know about this recent change. She said using dining dollars for concessions at sports games would be helpful for those who have them, especially for freshmen.

“I feel like a lot of people are struggling to spend them all by the end of the semester because they don’t use as many as they thought they would,” Sathiya said.

Divine Mesumbe, a sophomore enrolled in letters and sciences, said he did not know about the new policy either. He said he probably will not use dining dollars even though he attends basketball games often. 

“It doesn’t make that much of a difference to me personally, but if it’s a way to make things more accessible to students, then I’m all for it,” Mesumbe said. 

LaBue said being able to use dining dollars on concessions is “another reason to come to the game and … cheer on the Terps.”

“Student engagement matters,” he said. “We realize that we’ve got to create an environment where students want to come, and there shouldn’t be deterrents for them to stay.”

Featured Image: An employee unloads a delivery of concession supplies to SECU Stadium on March 12, 2026. Photo by Paige Trendell.