The Rams are planning a 365-days-a-year food court at their new Inglewood, Calif., stadium, one way the team is striving to make the venue a unique destination, said team Exec VP/Football Operations & COO Kevin Demoff yesterday at the ’16 Momentum Sports Marketing Symposium. Speaking on a panel on the future of stadiums, Demoff said the trick for the Rams is integrating all aspects of the 298-acre campus, which will include the stadium scheduled to open in '19, as well as retail, residential and a theater. Asked what will be unique about the stadium, Demoff joked that after Californians approved marijuana legalization on Tuesday, “We are re-evaluating our entire concessions right now.”
FLEXIBLE AND DIVERSE: Dimensional Innovations Practice Dir Justin Wood said the key for his firm in helping develop Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta is “portability.” By this he meant being able to shift the stadium from a Falcons game to an Atlanta United game, so on a football day the stadium feels like a football stadium and on soccer days a soccer stadium. E15 CEO Jamie Faulkner, whose company is a Levy Restaurants subsidiary that provides advanced analytics services to sports, entertainment, hospitality and retail organizations, said she often found fans did not want diverse culinary options, but more traditional options like hot dogs. But fans do want ease and no waits, and she pointed to mobile ordering at the Kentucky Derby this year as an example. Demoff gently disagreed with her on the food options, noting in L.A., offering hard-to-come-by food from top restaurants is a reason for fans to visit the stadium rather than stay home and watch on TV. And the idea translates not just to food, but retail. New Era Senior Marketing Manager for Sports Ryan DiNunzio said the cap maker offers products only available in stadiums and arenas as an inducement to get fans to come to games and visit the in-venue retail locations.
