Braves Sign Delaware North Sportservice To Run Concessions At SunTrust Park

The Braves have signed Delaware North Sportservice as their new food provider for SunTrust Park, ending a relationship with Aramark that dates back 50 years over two stadiums, said Braves Exec VP/Business Operations Mike Plant. The team would not discuss some of the contract details, but industry sources said Sportservice signed a seven-year agreement that starts next year at Turner Field. The '16 season will be the Braves’ last at the 19-year-old park before they move into $672M SunTrust Park. Aramark’s contract at Turner Field expires after this year. For the Braves, the difference maker was Sportservice’s close-knit culture, extending from the firm’s corporate office in Buffalo to its front-line employees working arenas and stadiums, Plant said. Over the past 10 months, Plant visited with everybody from Lou and Jerry Jacobs Jr., Delaware North’s co-CEOs, to officials at Wembley Stadium in London, a Delaware North client. Plant also spoke with several of the 10 MLB teams that use Sportservice as their concessionaire. “From top to bottom, I just had a really good feel for them and their system ... and how it will integrate with our standard of excellence,” Plant said. “When I look at it, I feel very good about the deal. It’s no longer commission-based but a new hybrid model." The deal, which includes a multimillion-dollar investment on the part of Sportservice to pay for furniture, fixtures and equipment at SunTrust Park, shifts from a commission-based structure to a mix of profit-and-loss and a management fee, Plant said. Under its deal with Aramark, the vendor essentially cut a check to the Braves. The new contract calls for Sportservice to collect a small fee from gross sales and split profits with the Braves after expenses. All food vendors competing for the SunTrust Park deal were required to submit multiple financing models as part of the team’s request for proposal, Plant said.



TEAM HIRING A LIAISON: The Braves will hire a full-time food and beverage director for the first time to serve as the team’s liaison with Sportservice. To this point, Plant has filled that role, but he will hand those duties to the new director as he focuses on development of the ballpark and the mixed-use project next door. The Braves will fill that position over the next few months, Plant said. Such positions are not uncommon in sports. About half of the major league teams Sportservice assists have execs devoted full time to those responsibilities, company President John Wentzell said. At SunTrust Park, which opens in April '17, Sportservice will run general concessions and premium dining for suites and three clubs and restaurants: the SunTrust Club, DeltaSky360 Club and a new version of the Chop House, the eatery at Turner Field. Separately, Sportservice will work closely with the Braves to develop new food concepts, officials from both parties said. “It’s a big win,” Wentzell said. “Any time you get a contract in MLB, it gives you a magnitude of scope and business. For us, the exclamation point is baseball. It’s our roots and our origin and it’s near and dear to us.”

RETAIL COMING IN-HOUSE: The Braves will take over retail starting next year at Turner Field and will keep their business in-house at SunTrust Park. Aramark also runs the merchandise at Turner Field. “We already run our own store at CNN Center and other locations off-site,” Plant said. “We felt better about doing it that way. This way, it provides opportunities for street-based pricing. You can’t [always] sell $80 and $90 polo shirts. This way, it’s more of a value game.”