The Buccaneers have already chosen a new concessionaire to take over operations March 1GETTY IMAGES
Aramark will "no longer provide" its concessionaire services at Raymond James Stadium, according to Veronica Brezina-Smith of the TAMPA BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL. Buccaneers COO Brian Ford said that the team has already "selected the new vendor, but he declined to share the name of the vendor." He added that the team "plans to share the details soon" and that the new takeover "will begin March 1." Brezina-Smith notes Aramark has worked with the Bucs since '13. The company "not only handled the food and beverage management, but all retail and merchandising -- a chunk of business" that, prior to '13, has been "handled by three different vendors over the previous years." Aramark "gave notice to the state on Jan. 2 that it plans to lay off all 919 workers all on Feb. 28," which is when the contract expires. Most of the jobs that Aramark will eliminate are "temporary, seasonal jobs that will be picked up by the new provider once they are in place" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/4).
