The city of San Diego has selected Delaware North Sportservice to operate the food service at Qualcomm Stadium, according to sources. Sportservice, Petco Park’s food provider since it opened in '04, was awarded the contract after the city issued an RFP in early January. An official announcement is expected over the next few days. The decision marks the end of a long run for Centerplate, Qualcomm’s concessionaire for many years dating to when the company was known as Volume Services. The change in food vendors comes less than seven months after Des Hague was fired as Centerplate CEO after being caught on video kicking a dog in a Vancouver hotel elevator. As a result of the incident, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer announced that he would review the city’s contract with Centerplate, which expired in February. Sportservice’s agreement will run five to 10 years pending negotiations, as stated in the RFP. The deal requires Sportservice to invest $3M in capital and install a new point-of-sale system at the 48-year-old facility. From April '13-March '14, Qualcomm Stadium generated about $15.4M in food and drink revenue, including $11.7M in revenue for 10 Chargers games, according to the city’s financial data. For Sportservice, the deal marks its seventh NFL stadium account. The vendor also runs food service at stadiums for the Bills, Packers, Panthers, Jets and Giants, Rams and Seahawks.
