ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., April 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Centerplate, the largest hospitality partner to North America's premier sports stadiums, convention centers and entertainment venues, announced today a series of new menu concepts, facility improvements and service enhancements for the Tampa Bay Rays 2011 Season at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"We are proud to partner with the Rays to serve their fans throughout the season," said Bill Tracy, Centerplate's Vice President with executive responsibility for the park. "We are eager to unveil our engaging new concepts tailored specifically for these great fans."

Menu Highlights

Fans will have several new menu items to enjoy this season. Centerplate's chefs have created new concepts specifically for Rays fans such as:

Wings around the World offering Boneless Chicken Wings, hand shaken and prepared to order with an extensive assortment of sauces, including buffalo, golden barbeque, sweet red chili, and cajun

Burger Up! designed to capture the feel of a classic drive-in, featuring thick milkshakes, house-made, fresh ground burgers, and natural-cut French fries

• The Cuban Burger - Two 1/4 pound fresh hamburger patties topped with ham, pork, salami and Swiss cheese. Finished with mustard and pickle planks and served on fresh Cuban bread

• Mushroom Swiss - Two 1/4 pound fresh hamburger patties topped with Swiss cheese and sauteed mushrooms

• Bacon Blue - Blue cheese sandwiched between two 1/4 pound hamburger patties and topped with 2 slices of Applewood smoked bacon

• The Old Fashioned - Two 1/4 pound hamburger patties topped with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and pickle planks

Cheesecake Lollipop Bats: Variety of cheesecake lollipops including raspberry with white chocolate & sprinkles, caramel with milk chocolate & candied pecans and NY-style with milk chocolate & chocolate cookie crumbs

Florida Home Grown Vegetable Wraps: Seasonal grilled vegetables in a whole wheat wrap with garlic infused balsamic dressing

Mojo Chicken Sandwich: Grilled Chicken breast, roasted red peppers, Swiss cheese, country olive aioli served with Cuban bread

Other notable changes include the transformation of The Batter's Eye Restaurant in Centerfield into the Everglades BBQ Company Smokehouse with in-house smoked options including; Pulled Smoked BBQ Pork Nachos: Crisp tortilla chips, topped with cheddar cheese sauce, pulled pork, red jalapenos and citrus chipotle BBQ sauce home smoked at Tropicana Field, Smoked Beef Brisket: Slow smoked beef brisket, piled high and home smoked at Tropicana Field and St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs: Rubbed, smoked and slow roasted. Everglades BBQ will also be available with a limited menu in two concession areas. One stand is in Right Field Street and one is located in the 1st Base Food Court.

The Brewhouse, a Rays fan favorite pre-game destination for food and drinks, will become even better this season, taking on a fresh new look and an updated menu of food and beverages, including a selection of local craft beers. Finally, the Gate 1 and Center Field Street will open 2 hours prior to every home game to host a pre-game happy hour.

Guest Services Enhancements

To complement its culinary and design additions, the company has also initiated a series of enhancements to its service training and experience assurance initiatives. Centerplate's training program, which has been completely revamped and re-launched for this season as Centerplate University, is based on a series of training sessions that reinforces the principles and behaviors of gracious guest service for a better fan experience.

About Centerplate:

Centerplate crafts and delivers "Craveable Experiences. Raveable Results." in 250 prominent sports, entertainment and convention venues across North America. Centerplate has provided services to 12 Super Bowls, 20 World Series, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, Art Basel Miami Beach, 15 official U.S. Presidential Inaugural Balls and the largest plated dinner in history at the Alpha Kappa Alpha Centennial Celebration. Visit the company online at www.centerplate.com.

SOURCE Centerplate