• Loading stock data...
Monday, April 28, 2025

Hard Rock Stadium Concessions Search for Sustainability with Super Bowl

  • Hard Rock Stadium will be the first U.S. professional sports venue to use aluminum cups.
  • Stadiums face long-term cost choices with lighting, restrooms and food packaging.
Hard Rock Stadium aluminum cups
Centerplate, Ball Corporation and Bud Light to Present Infinitely Recyclable Aluminum Cups at Super Bowl LIV (Photo credit: Matthew Noel)

While fans at Super Bowl LIV in Miami will see a global menu representative of the city at concession stands, they may not notice concessionaires’ push towards sustainability.

Centerplate, the official caterer for Hard Rock Stadium, plans to offer fans a menu of Cubano sausage, watermelon salads, paella and more, with many of the ingredients coming from local farms in South Florida. Centerplate – and its parent company, French-based Sodexo – has also teamed up with Ball Corporation to offer the company’s recyclable aluminum cups.

While the food aspect is critical to Centerplate, Sodexo Sports & Leisure CEO Nathalie Bellon-Szabo said the goal to eliminate plastic is as vital, which is why they brought on packaging-specialist Ball. Sodexo also used the cups at last year’s Tour de France and has plans to expand their use at other events they service, including the Olympics.

“It’s very important to us to contribute to this event with social impact,” Bellon-Szabo said.

Ball has made significant investments into the aluminum cup and broke ground on a manufacturing facility in Georgia this year. With the capability to manufacture hundreds of millions of cups out of the plant, Ball is signing on clients for 2021, Sebastian Siethoff, Ball’s general manager, said.

“At Ball, when we approach the investment, we think five to ten years down the line,” Siethoff said. “This is a heavily capitalized business with very long-term planning horizons, and we have bigger plans beyond this factory.”

There will be 50,000 of the aluminum 20-ounce cups at Hard Rock Stadium for the Super Bowl.

While Ball’s aluminum cup is a significant step towards sustainability, whether or not the cups are recycled is up to consumers and the venue, Walker Ross, assistant professor of sport business management at Florida Southern College, said.

“Aluminum is infinitely recyclable, that means if they’re going to be recycling properly, it will drastically decrease the impact on the environment,” Ross said. “You can have a good intention and put the cup in the recycle bin, but what happens after it gets picked up, that’s anybody’s guess.”

In a tweet from Dolphins President and CEO Tom Garfinkel, it took the organization 10 days to clear 60 pallets of single-use plastics from the stadium in December.

Hard Rock Stadium is the first U.S. professional sports venue to make a move away from plastic cups, following Ball’s debut of the cup at the University of Colorado’s Folsom Field last fall.

READ MORE: Ball Corp.’s New Vision To Transform Venue Sustainability With Aluminum

Many sustainable solutions can cost more upfront while offering longer lifespans and lower operating costs, as in the case of LED lights and low-flow toilets, Ross said, while noting many teams don’t have the extra funds to make it work.

“The important thing to remember is that a vast majority of the sports industry is not Miami-Dolphins scale; It’s minor leagues, community and youth programs,” he said. “They barely have enough money to keep the lights on.”

Without specifying costs, Siethoff said the aluminum cups will be more expensive than plastic alternatives but in line with other sustainable options.

Sodexo acquired Centerplate in 2017 and has an extensive lineup of events to service this year after the Super Bowl, including the French Open, Tour de France, and Tokyo Olympics. The company has also hosted CES in Las Vegas, the NCAA National Championship in New Orleans, and the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Tokyo.

Centerplate is seeking to add a “distinct Miami flair” to its offerings at the Super Bowl, with more than 2,500 employees in up to 10 kitchens and more than 20 supporting executive chefs flying in to help Hard Rock Executive Chef Dayanny de la Cruz with the extensive menu. Super Bowl LIV concession stands will also serve up Impossible Foods’ plant-based Impossible Burgers for the first time.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Dec 27, 2023; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; A close up view of New York Knicks forward Julius Randle (30) shoes during the second half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center.

Skechers Is Latest Company to Pull Guidance, Citing U.S. Tariffs

Skechers’s healthy international business will help it weather the effects of tariffs.
Sponsored

Fighting for Clarity: Inside UFC’s New Partnership With Total Wireless

UFC teams with Total Wireless in a no-frills partnership built for today’s mobile-first, value-driven fanbase.
Apr 20, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward Evan Mobley (4) celebrates his three-point basket in the first quarter against the Miami Heat at Rocket Arena.

Evan Mobley’s DPOY Win Adds $45 Million to Contract

Mobley’s contract extension got more expensive with his DPOY win.
Mar 16, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) celebrates with guard Isaiah Joe (11) after score in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

Unorthodox OKC: The Thunder Redefined Tanking to Become NBA’s Best

A rebuild years in the making has OKC in the driver’s seat.

Featured Today

Jun 21, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck holds the Larry O’Brien trophy prior to the Boston Celtics championship parade.

The Celtics Succession Plan Remains Murky

The transfer of power to a private-equity group is still unresolved.
Apr 13, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jake Mangum (28) scores a run against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
April 26, 2025

The Rays Groundskeepers Are Adjusting to Life Outside the Dome

After nearly three decades in a dome, Tampa groundskeepers were forced outside.
April 25, 2025

The Former NBA Agent Who Became a Pickleball Deputy Commissioner

Chris Patrick went from representing Jimmy Butler to pickleball deputy commissioner.
Apr 5, 2025; San Antonio, TX, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cooper Flagg (2) reacts after a three point basket against the Houston Cougars during the first half in the semifinals of the men's Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament at the Alamodome.
April 21, 2025

Cooper Flagg’s Timing Is Perfect for the NBA and USA Basketball

The projected No. 1 pick just declared for the draft.
Sponsored

Game the Green: Transforming Fan Experiences at TPC Sawgrass

As fans gather at THE PLAYERS Championship, Comcast Business will be keeping spectators and the PGA TOUR connected like never before.
October 8, 2024

NBA GMs Rank Salary-Cap Apron As Rule That Needs to Change Most

Schedule changes finished second with 17% of the vote.
February 3, 2025

Super Bowl Ticket Prices Crash As Hotel Rooms See Historic Rate Hike

Prices sink by about 30%, due in part to a lodging crunch.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

This week, Two-time Super Bowl Champion and CBS NFL analyst Logan Ryan joins us to talk the business of sports on our third installment of Portfolio Players.
September 8, 2024

US Open Breaks Attendance Record

Top-seeded Jannik Sinner beat No. 12 Taylor Fritz in straight sets Sunday.
Sponsored

Mastercard’s Foodies & Fairways: Where Golf Meets Gourmet at the TOUR Championship

This year’s TOUR Championship in Atlanta isn’t just about world-class golf—it’s also a celebration of local flavors.
July 18, 2024

Loyal WNBA Fans Hit With Enormous Season-Ticket Price Hikes

Some season-ticket holders are seeing their prices doubled.
July 16, 2024

CONMEBOL, Hard Rock Stadium Continue Trading Blame Over Copa Disaster

Each blames the other for the security madness at Sunday’s final.