Centerplate Stirs Up Creative Concepts and Revenues with Launch of Hospitality Strategy Group

STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Centerplate, the leading hospitality provider to North America's premier sports stadiums and convention centers, announces the launch of Centerplate Stir™, a new strategic design initiative, formed to imagine and create custom hospitality solutions as uniquely compelling as the events and venues they support.

The first in the industry to combine the capabilities of a major hospitality company with that of a boutique concept design firm, Centerplate Stir is a fluid and multi-disciplinary group of talented strategists and operators from all areas of Centerplate, plus select outside resources. The group is led by John Sergi, Centerplate's new Chief Design Officer, a pioneer who has dedicated more than 25 years to the transformational idea that big venue hospitality can and should align with the essence of the event, brand, location, and team it supports.

Based on insights regarding key audience demographics, trend analysis and brand identity, the Centerplate Stir team defines menus and concepts, plans aesthetics, and guides the hospitality design process from planning through delivery. Projects are built from the ground up for holistic, one-of-a-kind signature guest experiences.

"Helping people use food and hospitality to express who they are is what Centerplate Stir is all about," says Sergi.  "A great example of this is what we did with this year's Belmont Stakes. We took a good catering program and reinvented it to express the identity of the Belmont which is very "neighborhood New York." We brought in Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli, chef-proprietors of Frankies 457 in Brooklyn and Frankies 17 in Manhattan, who both grew up around the corner from the race track. We wrote the entire day's menu from the Franks' new cookbook The Frankies Spuntino: Kitchen Companion and Cooking Manual and people loved it!"

Each Centerplate Stir hospitality design is a custom, brand-specific solution, unique to the location, history, and culture of a venue and its guests. Additional projects in progress include Tropicana Field for the Tampa Bay Rays, Safeco Field for the Seattle Mariners, Swedbank Arena in Stockolm, Sweden and the Saratoga Race Course for New York Racing Association.

"Centerplate Stir is one more element in the total solution that we provide," says Des Hague, President and CEO of Centerplate. "This new group will supercharge Centerplate's ability to develop and deliver innovative hospitality strategies that enhance our clients' brands and drive their overall returns."

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 11 Super Bowls, 19 World Series, key events for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, 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.

About John Sergi

For more than two decades, John Sergi's hospitality designs have proven successful in building brands, fostering fan loyalty, creating surprise and delight for guests, and generating increased sales at some of the world's best-known venues and events. As a pioneering hospitality strategist, John has played a critical role in developing guest experience at some of the world's most iconic outlets, from the New York Mets' Citifield, the USTA's US Open, and London's Wembley Stadium. He has also played an instrumental role in the creation of hospitality programs for the NFL, the NBA, and numerous tournaments on professional golf and tennis tours.

SOURCE Centerplate