How Stadium Foodservice Equipment Can Change the Game

The days of satisfying sports fans with hot dogs and an oversized soft drink are over. Today’s event attendees expect much more from their stadium foodservice purveyors, with concessions playing a crucial role in enhancing the overall fan experience. Outposts from popular local restaurant chains, regional beers, and even gourmet menus are all part of the game day experience. Fans don’t want to miss a play, either, so lines need to be fast. This poses many challenges for today’s stadium foodservice operators.

The Evolution of Stadium Dining

Stadium food menus have undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. Fans now expect more than just traditional hot dogs and popcorn, with venues introducing unique local flavors and elevated dining options. Partnerships with renowned chefs and restaurants have become increasingly common, as seen at SoFi Stadium where award-winning chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo reimagined the culinary experience.

Simplifying recipes is key to executing high-quality dishes at scale. More recently, mobile ordering and cashless payments have further enhanced convenience, with some stadiums like CITYPARK seeing over 20% of orders placed through mobile. The combination of high quality, high speed, and convenience means today’s stadium foodservice operators need stadium foodservice equipment that can deliver — even when the home team can’t.

Common Stadium Foodservice Challenges and Foodservice Equipment to Solve Them

There are a few important trends in stadium foodservice, but none are as prominent as labor. As with other areas of the hospitality and foodservice industries, finding reliable staffing can be the most challenging. Stadium foodservice equipment can help reduce the impact of labor challenges by making operations easier and more efficient. Automation is an important element in many new types of equipment, and these innovations can help make units easier to operate, help operators do more with less, and help coordinate one area of service with another thanks to connectivity and enhanced controls.

Flexibility is another top stadium foodservice trend. Because stadiums and arenas can change from baseball on Thursday to a rock concert on Saturday, the ability to adapt foodservice menus and locations is critical. Likewise, changing from season to season is another important part of flexibility, and having the right stadium foodservice equipment can help make service easier.

Finally, location is key to maximizing profits. With stadium foodservice equipment that can move from one location to another, stadium foodservice operators gain the ability to earn profits from location to location. One of the prohibiting factors to moving a cooking location from point A to point B is the need for ventilation. This makes ventless foodservice equipment valuable to stadium foodservice operators looking to create profit centers in areas like breezeways and corridors.

Save Labor, Enhance Speed of Service, and Provide Flexibility with Combi Ovens from Blodgett-Combi

Combi Ovens from Blodgett Combi can produce more food quickly. They can provide versatility throughout a stadium or arena. And they can help reduce the burdens on labor in a labor-challenged marketplace.

Like in other high-volume foodservice situations, serving food to thousands of fans at multiple events over a weekend is a common scenario in many stadium and arena kitchens. As events ramp up, having ovens that can withstand heavy use is crucial. There’s nothing worse than an oven breaking down on a Saturday morning during peak season, just as kickoff is about to begin. Heavy-duty combi ovens are designed to handle the demands of a busy stadium foodservice operation. With a fully welded frame, they can hold multiple full-sized sheet pans and endure continuous industrial use, ensuring you can consistently serve fans their favorite foods on time, even during the largest events.

Maximizing space is essential for stadium foodservice operators looking to expand service locations that can reduce wait times for fans and customers. Blodgett’s Universal Combi Ovens are also great at enhancing this benefit. With the capacity to prepare up to 500 meals in one period, they are stackable, offering the flexibility and additional capacity needed without occupying extra space. For smaller concession stands or café areas within the stadium, the stackable Mini Combi is the perfect solution, allowing for high-efficiency cooking even in tight spaces.

Blodgett-Combi offers flexible ventless solutions for stadium and arena foodservice operators. Fans at games, concerts, and events are eager to grab a hot meal but may not want to leave their seats or head to the main concourse. Installing a full kitchen with a ventilation system can be costly, but ventless foodservice equipment offers a convenient and efficient alternative.

Learn more about the capabilities of ventless foodservice equipment from the experts at Middleby.

Source:

Foodservice Equipment Reports