For years, fans have been griping about the soaring cost of taking a family to the baseball game: tickets, parking, overpriced hot dogs, etc.

While we wish the circumstances were different, the flailing economy has some teams desperate to put butts in the seats, and the result is what could charitably be called a "promotional environment."

To that end, the Arizona Diamondbacks are offering 675 seats that come with all the food you can eat, including hot dogs, popcorn, peanuts, Frito Lay or Corazonas chips, Pepsi soft drinks and Aquafina bottled water. They're $30 for most games and 15 "premiere games" are $35.

"We discovered that the all-you-can-eat option was very popular with our fans when we tested it during six late-season games last year," D-backs' President and CEO Derrick Hall said in a press release. "Along with having the lowest average ticket price in baseball and value-priced concession and merchandise items at Chase Field, our All-You-Can-Eat Seats is another example of how we are creating affordable options for our fans during these challenging economic times."

It's a pretty good deal, especially given that the Diamondbacks came within two games of the playoffs last year.

One motive behind the aggressive pricing strategy could be Arizona's rapidly deteriorating economy. Arizona is third in the nation in foreclosures, with 18,199 filings in February. The Diamondbacks' hometown of of Phoenix saw the largest price decline of any city for that month, with home values falling 35% year over year.

Perhaps reflecting pessimism about the economy, the Diamondbacks were pretty quiet on the free agent front during the offseason.