Courtside cuisine

At the average Jazz game, fans at the Delta Center consume:

5,342 cups of soda

2,600 cups of beer

1,318 hot dogs

1,145 bottles of water

1,100 pizzas

826 orders of popcorn

707 bowls of ice cream

696 candy bars

410 hamburgers

408 burritos

383 ice cream cones

And you thought fans came just to watch the game!

It takes 600 employees to run the Delta Center's food services department on game night, said Mark Stedman, the company's food services vice president. Besides the concessions on the concourse, there are meals and snacks served in the suites, the pre-game dinners for the Jazz 100 Club, the VIP room and the press room (which feeds about 100 people), prepared under the direction of executive chef Thomas Satterfield.

"It takes two days to prepare for a Jazz game," he said.

You don't have to be a mathematician to look at these numbers and figure out that food and beverage is a huge slice of the financial pie for a sports stadium.

"It's an important revenue that helps support the overall operation," Stedman said. "Larry Miller spends so much money for these basketball players, and if you're not making money on the food, you're not going to succeed."

An article in the July 2003 issue of the National Culinary Review said sports arenas are an important area of growth in the food-service industry, with more upscale food being offered, such as grilled duck breast and lobster-filled ravioli.

At the Delta Center, the usual hot dogs, pizza and nachos are supplemented by items like made-to-order burritos, deli sandwiches, lo mein noodle bowls, egg rolls, barbecued ribs, cheese-stuffed tortellini and chicken Parmesan.

Why the variety?