International hospitality service provider, Centerplate, has signed a seven-year catering and hospitality deal worth £45m with conference and exhibition centre, ACC Liverpool.
All of the catering and hospitality services at the venue, which is home to BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, have previously been managed by The Lindley Group’s Heathcotes Outside division since it opened its doors to the public in 2008. ACC Liverpool selected Centerplate, which acquired The Lindley Group in April, as its catering and hospitality partner after putting the business out to competitive tender at the end of the initial five-year contract.
Centerplate will now assume responsibility for all on-site public and hospitality catering services at the venue’s existing facilities, along with the option to service the new Exhibition Centre Liverpool, which is due to open in 2015 as part of the expansion of the ACC Liverpool complex.
During the summer, Centerplate’s Chief Design Officer, John Sergi, has been working in partnership with the UK team to develop and re-launch the concourse catering services and facilities at Echo Arena. New menus and catering units were rolled out under the new ‘Mersey Eats’ and ‘Mersey Drinks’ branded retail concepts which have been established to showcase regional gourmet dishes and the produce of local suppliers. The arena’s chefs have collaborated with the Allerton restaurant, Spire, to develop the new menus, and with Liverpool hot spot Alma de Cuba to create bespoke drinks such as the ’Strawberry Fields Cocktail’.
Centerplate plans to review and develop all other aspects of the hospitality and catering services at the venue including: enhancing the Arena Club Class hospitality box packages; re-launching the Galleria coffee bar with new menus and a new service offering; implementing a catering and hospitality apprenticeship programme; and funding the establishment of a community farm project.
“We have never under-estimated the crucial role that catering plays in enhancing the visitor or delegate experience,” says Bob Prattey, Chief Executive of ACC Liverpool. “As we embark on the next phase of the development of the site, the Centerplate team has demonstrated that it has the global expertise and a passion for engaging with local suppliers and the local community.”
Centerplate crafts and delivers hospitality for more than 115m guests each year in over 300 entertainment, sports and convention venues across North America and the UK. Centerplate has provided event hospitality to 30 official US Presidential Inaugural Balls, 13 Super Bowls, 21 World Series, the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, and the largest plated dinner in history.
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