January 26, 2010

(h/t to Mike Mahoney and his awesome Twitter feed)

The Charlotte BizJournal is reporting that the NFL’s Carolina Panthers have decided to look outside their own walls to handle concessions and merchandise.

Delaware North Sportservice has signed a 10-year contract with the Panthers to take over food and merchandise at Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers ran those operations in-house the past 12 seasons through a subsidiary, Stadium Food and Beverage.

Sportservice is cutting a check to the Panthers but the investment was secondary, Sportservice President Rick Abramson says. Officials from both sides declined to provide details.

It is the Buffalo, N.Y.-based firm’s sixth NFL deal. Sportservice officially takes over in February, and Stadium Food and Beverage’s management staff, including director Todd Smoots, stays intact, Abramson says. (via Charlotte BizJournal)

The article mentions that the Panthers initially went “self-op” so as to have greater control over their food service.  That though, was in 2003; we’ve seen the entire sports landscape change in the last 7 years.  Now? this almost looks like a cost-cutting measure by the Panthers.  They’re able to do-away with the costs of training staff and buying equipment, and, although the number wasn’t disclosed, Delaware North Sportservice is probably playing a pretty penny to be known as the Panthers food service provider.

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