Inside the Super Bowl’s foodservices

Fans watching the Super Bowl at home will likely expend more effort in getting another beer than will most of the 68,500 attending the game. The host arena, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., is widely credited with having state-of-the-art support systems for its foodservices, including the delivery of drinks to patrons’ seats, remote ordering and pick-up of food, and a mapping feature that shows the user’s location and where to buy refreshments.

The features are all incorporated into an app, but the facility’s uniqueness extends beyond what attendees can do via their smartphones. Centerplate, the manager of the stadium’s foodservices, revamped what was available from the concessions before the NFL season started last summer. Sunday’s menus will feature such local specialties as a Dungeness crab sandwich on sourdough bread, grilled Castroville-style artichokes and local craft beers.

Operations are also regarded as being among the greenest in recreational feeding. When the park opened in 2014 as the new home of the San Francisco 49ers, it was the first LEED-certified stadium in the NFL.

Here’s a tour of some of the features.

Regional specialties

Levi’s Stadium features 180 specialties of the Bay Area, including a steamed bao sampler and a crab fondue. 

High-end ‘tailgating’

Among the foodservice facilities inside the stadium is a pop-up restaurant, Michael Mina’s Tailgate, featuring the specialties of San Francisco celebrity chef Michael Mina. When the 49ers aren’t playing, the Tailgate space is usually configured as a branch of Bourbon Steak, Mina’s high-end concept, and opened to the public. But it has been closed for a two-week hiatus. Tailgate functions as a club open to ticket holders. Among its features are a 13-foot-tall rotisserie that can handle a whole cow, and 500-gallon pots used for seafood boils. 

Drink delivery

Fans attending the game can use their phones to have a drink delivered to their seats. However, they’ll pay a steep premium: There’s a $5 fee per delivery.

Food pre-ordering and pick-up

During regular-season games, app users can also have food brought to their seats. But Centerplate is suspending that feature for the Super Bowl because of the expected volume. Instead, patrons can order food and pick it up from set stations, an arrangement intended to spare them from long lines.

Maps to the food

A mapping feature shows the app user as a dot. As with an in-car navigation system or Google Maps, the function shows the user where the food stands are located and how to get there.

Transportation alternatives for staff

One of Levi’s Stadium’s unique features is parking for 500 bicycles, an amenity that also provides employees with another transportation option. A local cycling club even provides free valet parking for the cycles.