Fall sports banquets happen in November. Booster parents start planning them in September — and the ones who wait until October end up choosing between whatever venues and caterers still have a Friday night open.
Here’s what a North Fulton banquet actually costs and how to lock it in early.
The headcount nobody plans for
The classic mistake is budgeting for the roster. A banquet is not the roster — it’s the roster plus parents, siblings, coaches and staff. A 45-player football program produces a banquet of 110–150 people. A 20-person cross country team lands around 50–60.
Rule of thumb: multiply the roster by 2.5, then confirm with an RSVP. Building a budget on the roster number alone is how banquets go over.
What it costs, all in
Our catering runs $580 for 25 people — about $23 per person, delivery and setup included. For a banquet:
- 50 people (small team + families): two packages, about $1,160
- 75 people: three packages, about $1,740
- 100 people: four packages, about $2,320
- 150 people: six packages, about $3,480
Want the exact number for your event? These are standard package prices. Tell us your headcount, date and delivery address and we’ll send back an exact all-in total — delivery and setup included, no service charge added later.
What that means per family: at 100 guests from a 40-player roster, you’re looking at roughly $58 per family for the food — the number that actually matters when you present the budget at a booster meeting.
Compare before you commit. Full-service banquet venues in North Fulton typically start around $45–$65 per person once room fees, minimums, service charges and gratuity are added, and marketplace platforms tack fees onto the food price. Catering into a school cafeteria, church hall or community room keeps almost all of the budget in the food.
The timeline that works
- September: pick the date and lock the room. The room is the constraint, not the food — school cafeterias and community rooms book out first
- Early October: get a catering quote with an estimated headcount and put it in the calendar
- Two weeks out: RSVPs close, firm up the number
- Three days out: final headcount to the caterer. We can still adjust after this — most cannot
Menu decisions for a mixed room
A banquet room has athletes who could eat a whole tray themselves, grandparents, and a couple of vegetarians. Italian handles that spread better than a plated dinner: pasta both ways, salad, garlic rolls, and pizza so the younger siblings actually eat something.
Gluten-free and vegan options come from the same order — just tell us the count and we’ll label the trays so nobody has to interrogate a buffet line in front of a hundred people.
Booster club invoicing
You should not be putting $2,000 on a personal credit card and waiting on the treasurer. We invoice booster clubs and school activity accounts directly — say so when you book and we’ll set it up.
Awards nights, senior nights, and the small stuff
The banquet is the big one, but the season has smaller moments too: senior night receptions, awards ceremonies, the coach’s appreciation dinner. Those run 20–40 people and one package usually covers it. If something comes together on short notice, we can typically deliver with about two hours’ notice.
Planning a banquet? Request a quote with your estimated headcount and date — we’ll give you an exact all-in number you can take to the booster meeting. Or call (770) 475-0369.