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News Archive: 2010
Centerplate Extends Role with Greenville Arena District
The Greenville Arena District (GAD), the agency which owns the BI-LO Center and manages the Charter Amphitheatre, and Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America's premier sports stadiums and convention centers, jointly announced today that effective September 1, Centerplate will transition its venue management responsibilities at the BI-LO Center to GAD, who will manage the facility in-house. Centerplate will continue to provide foodservice at the BI-LO Center through an extension on its existing contract, and expand its operations to include a new contract for food and beverage services at the Charter Amphitheater at Heritage Park.
Located in the heart of downtown Greenville, South Carolina, the BI-LO Center is a state-of-the-art 15,000 seat sports and entertainment arena boasting A-list concerts and events. The new terms would allow for the GAD to take over management of the facility in-house. As part of the new structure, Centerplate has received a long-term extension of its existing contract to continue food service operations for the BI-LO Center, as well as a new long-term contract to provide food service to the nearby Charter Amphitheater at Heritage Park in Simpsonville, an outdoor visitor and performance venue with 3,500 fixed seats and 11,700 lawn seats.
"We are pleased at the quality of experience that Centerplate has delivered for guests and visitors of the BI-LO Center during the years they have been our partner," said Ty Thornhill of GAD. "This new chapter in our arrangement allows us to expand benefits to the community, while continuing to set a high standard for guest experiences."
"Centerplate is proud to continue serving the community at the BI-LO Center's premier events and to expand our hospitality services to the Charter Amphitheatre at Heritage Park," said George Wooten, Executive Vice President, Operations of Centerplate, "We are delighted to extend our partnership with the Greenville Arena District Public Facilities Management Corporation and to focus on providing visitors with world-class hospitality services."
Greenville Arena District
Formed in 2008, the GAD is a state-appointed board that oversees management of the BI-LO Center in Greenville, S.C., and the Charter Amphitheater at Heritage Park in Simpsonville, S.C.
Centerplate
Centerplate crafts and delivers "Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results." in 250 prominent entertainment, sports and convention venues across North America--including 21 performing arts centers. Centerplate has provided services to Art Basel Miami Beach, 15 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls, 12 Super Bowls, 19 World Series, key events for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration. Visit the company online at www.centerplate.com.
Legendary Partners of Atlanta Names Classically-trained Culinary Star for The Woodruff Arts Center
Gary Mennie brings experience from Canoe, Ritz-Carlton Buckhead and Spago to Executive Chef Role.
The Woodruff Arts Center Awards Hospitality Contract to Legendary Partners of Atlanta
STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 6 -- Legendary Partners of Atlanta, a new collaboration between A Legendary Event, Atlanta's foremost special events firm, and Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America's premier entertainment venues, sports stadiums and convention centers, announced today it has been awarded the long-term contract as hospitality partner to The Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta.
Recognized as one of the nation's most prestigious arts centers, and the only center in the nation combining visual and performing arts, The Woodruff Arts Center is home to the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences. Since 1968, The Woodruff Arts Center has served more than30 million patrons and annually offers more than 3,300 performances and exhibitions. Its board selected Legendary Partners of Atlanta as its food and beverage solution provider after a lengthy and competitive review process.
Joe Bankoff, President and CEO of The Woodruff Arts Center, said, "We are very excited about our new relationship with Legendary Partners of Atlanta. They understand our business, appreciate our mission and presented a plan to provide an unparalleled guest experience for each of our audiences."
Viewed by Atlanta's charitable, corporate and civic organizations as the region's premier special events company, A Legendary Event's Tony Conway, President and Owner said, "We are thrilled to join Centerplate in providing outstanding guest service to The Woodruff Arts Center's audiences, and excited to deliver the level of excellence that has come to represent the Center's programming. We are looking forward to bringing Atlanta back to The Woodruff Arts Center for its events and dining."
Centerplate serves over 250 leading entertainment, sports and convention venues throughout North America, including twenty-one marquee performing arts centers. The company is known for its compelling food and beverage programs; in 2010 alone Centerplate served as the hospitality partner to the Super Bowl, the Winter Olympics, the NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four, the South Beach Wine & Food Show, and the recent Nuclear Summit in Washington, D.C. "We are honored to have this opportunity to serve The Woodruff Arts Center and the city of Atlanta, and we are extremely excited to provide world-class hospitality to this world-class facility," said Des Hague, President and CEO of Centerplate.
Legendary Partners of Atlanta is scheduled to begin service at The Woodruff Arts Center in the fall of 2010. Among its plans are a refreshed restaurant concept, enhancements to public food offerings, and offering an array of special event catering choices.
This announcement follows recent Centerplate new business partnerships, including being selected as hospitality partner to the jewel of Ontario the Niagara Convention & Civic Centre in Niagara Falls, Canada and its start of operations at Tanglewood, summer home of the Boston Pops. A Legendary Event was named the 2010 Event Spotlight Recipient for Catering Company of the Yearand the2010 Catersource ACE (Achievement in Catering Excellence) Award for the Best Catering Company in the South Region.
About The Woodruff Arts Center
The Woodruff Arts Center is one of the premier cultural centers in the nation, a unique institutional model where arts institutions unite to form a collaborative and inspirational environment for the arts and education. The Woodruff Arts Center houses four renowned arts organizations - Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, High Museum of Art, and Young Audiences. In addition to its role as a cultural beacon and hub of the Southeast, the Center serves as a critical economic, educational, and social catalyst for Atlanta and the region. For more information, visit www.woodruffcenter.org.
About A Legendary Event
A Legendary Event is an award-winning catering and event services' company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Providing exemplary catering, design and decor, the company has gained the confidence of the city's best events since 1997. For more information, visit www.legendaryevents.com.
About Centerplate
Centerplate crafts and delivers "Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results." in 250 prominent entertainment, sports and convention venues across North America--including 21 performing arts centers. Centerplate has provided services to Art Basel Miami Beach, 15 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls, 12 Super Bowls, 19 World Series, key events for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration. Visit the company online at www.centerplate.com.
Centerplate Chosen to Serve Ontario’s New Niagara Convention & Civic Centre
Leading convention hospitality provider selected to partner with new state-of-the-art LEED certified meeting facility
STAMFORD, CT (June 7, 2010)—Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America’s premier convention centers, sports stadiums and entertainment venues, announced today it has been awarded the long-term contract as hospitality partner to the new Niagara Convention & Civic Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The company was selected following a lengthy and competitive review process and will help the facility, currently under construction, to open its doors in 2011.
Centerplate Introduces New Menu Concepts for 2010 Belmont Stakes
Leading hospitality provider to partner with Chef Frank Falcinelli and Chef Frank Castronovo to introduce feature menus for 2010 Belmont Stakes
STAMFORD, CT - Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America’s premier sports stadiums and convention centers, will partner with Chef Frank Falcinelli and Chef Frank Castronovo, chefs and proprietors of Brooklyn’s Frankies 457 and Manhattan’s Frankies 17, two of New York City’s most-recognized Italian restaurants to create a menu featuring local foods, premier wines, and signature cocktails for this year’s Belmont Stakes. The final race in the Triple Crown series, the Belmont Stakes draws big crowds, and in recent runnings, Centerplate has served more than 100,000 guests.
Talking Marlins Ballpark Food With The Chef Who Makes It
Lee Klein of the Miami New Times interviews Centerplate's Chef Orlando Morales regarding his background, culinary approach, and his new menu concepts for this season of Marlins baseball:
Sports Catering: In a league of their own
Even if they don’t entirely agree on what football is, the Americans and the British both know how sports are important. And they agree that when they are watching sport, they like to eat.
By Chris Farnell
Anyone who says that sport is nothing but a game clearly doesn’t have a grasp on the numbers involved. Centerplate is one of the largest catering companies in the world. This year alone it has catered the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and Vancouver Olympics. With a potential 40 million customers going through its sports venues, Centerplate is in no doubt that sports catering is a very serious business.
Syracuse Chiefs hope Stephen Strasburg visit will translate into a big-league payday
By Lindsay Kramer/The Post-Standard
Syracuse, NY - As soon as pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg pulls on a Syracuse Chiefs jersey and smiles for the cameras, he will be a lottery ticket that the team can keep cashing for years to come.
Strasburg’s baseball numbers in Syracuse — his fastball already has been clocked at more than 100 mph — will be recorded by scouts’ radar guns, pitching charts and box scores. But other numbers that matter from a Chiefs perspective will flow for a lot longer.
AT&T Park Becomes the First Major League Ballpark to Receive LEED Certification
This certification officially makes AT&T Park the Greenest Ballpark in the United States based on sustainability and energy efficiency practices for an existing building.
AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants since April 2000, received U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Silver Certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Existing Buildings, Operations and Maintenance (EBO&M). This LEED Silver Certification for an existing building makes AT&T Park the first major league ballpark to receive this honor and recognizes the Giants and its partners, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), Linc Facility Services and Centerplate, for their efforts to achieve sustainability and efficiencies in the daily operations of AT&T Park.
Centerplate Wins Long-Term Contract with Detroit’s Cobo Convention Center
Hospitality Leader Trumps Competition with Record of Exemplary Guest Services
STAMFORD, CT – Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America’s premier convention centers, sports stadiums and entertainment venues, announced today it has been awarded the long-term contract as hospitality partner to the Cobo Conference and Exhibition Center, the storied 2.4 million square foot facility in the heart of downtown Detroit. Following a lengthy and competitive bidding process, Centerplate will support Cobo Center during its $278 million upgrade.

