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Zips fans can score full meal at games

New stadium's concessions will range from traditional menu to fancy catered fare

By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal food writer

Published on Monday, Sep 07, 2009

If the words ''fine cuisine'' and ''football stadium'' don't typically go together in your mind, it's probably because you haven't spent a lot of time sitting in posh private suites and loges.

For the haves — those who had $20,000 to buy a suite at the new InfoCision Stadium at the University of Akron— the sky is the limit when it comes to dining at football games this fall.

But the rest of us aren't likely to go away hungry, with plenty of traditional stadium fare for the taking. About the only area where the regular seat holder will ''have not'' is alcoholic beverages, which are not being offered anywhere below club-level seating.

We'll start with the foods most of us will be eating: hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, hot pretzels, popcorn, nachos, peanuts and soft drinks.

There will be plenty, with 10 concession stands on the stadium's concourse level.

V/Gladieux Enterprises Inc. of Toledo has the contract for concessions at the stadium and is offering a full list of sandwiches and snacks.

Aside from the standards there will be bratwurst; deluxe hot dogs with toppings that include chili, cheese, sauerkraut and hot peppers; steak fries and chili cheese fries; Polish sausage; Italian sausage with peppers and onions; meatball subs; grilled chicken sandwiches; and fruit smoothies.

The stadium has four large and six smaller concession stands, each of which will serve a mix of offerings, said Ted Curtis, UA's vice president for capital planning and facilities management, who has shepherded the $65 million stadium project.

All of the food, including sandwiches, is priced at $5 or less. Soft drinks and water are $3 a bottle. The cheapest item on the menu is a bag of Shearer's potato chips for $1.50.

International cuisine

For those who spent some serious money on their seats, the catering is being done by UA's dining services. Zia Ahmed, director of dining services and administration for UA, and executive chef Patrick Kander have put together a menu that reflects an international cuisine, with French, Italian, Mediterranean, and Eastern European items as well as regional American favorites.

While the menu is extensive — Greek moussaka, European roasted beet salad, French chicken crepes in poulet sauce with white wine — Ahmed admitted, ''We'll pretty much accommodate any request.''

Food in the suites on the stadium's sixth floor runs roughly $300 to $500 per game, for a buffet to feed 20 people. Alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine and a full bar, are available, but cost extra.

For their money, however, suite holders are getting quality.

The salads are filled with specialty vegetables ordered from the Chef's Garden Farm in Huron, Kander said. A roasted potato and Brussels sprout salad is topped with tiny variegated leaves of fresh sage from Chef's Garden, Kander points out.

Despite the fancy offerings, Kander said he expects to serve a lot of fried chicken and Italian sausages, which are perennial favorites among football fans.

On the fifth floor, the amenities in the loge and club seating areas are similar. Both include an all-you-can-eat game day buffet that will change from week to week. It will include traditional stadium foods, many of which will be premium versions of what fans in lower-level seating have. The hot dog, for instance, is a large Black Angus dog.

Fifth-floor fans will have access to a full cash bar, the only difference being loge seat holders will have wait staff to take their drink orders, while club seat holders have to get up and get their own.

One item that Zips fans would probably like to get their hands on are the decorated cookies cut out in the shape of UA's mascot, Zippy, wearing his signature blue and gold sweater. They're not for sale at the regular concessions but come with the dessert offerings in the suites.

The upper floors of the stadium are not completely off limits to the average fan. Along with the patio areas in the end zones, they are available for rent for parties, corporate events and wedding receptions, with accommodations for groups of up to 1,000.

Tailgate parties

Regardless of what is being served inside the stadium, football fans know that some of the best food to be had on game day will come before the game at tailgate parties.

Curtis boasts that the new stadium has enough space in both parking lots and grassy areas to allow for ''authentic collegiate tailgating,'' something he said was lacking at the Rubber Bowl.

The stadium is surrounded by parking lots and is next to Lee R. Jackson Baseball Field, with grassy areas that are perfect for picnicking (tailgating without cars), Curtis said.

He said he's hoping the new stadium contributes to the Akron food scene in another way, too — with fans heading to the restaurants after games.

''We're hoping that after the games, a lot of people will stay downtown,'' he said.

 

Lisa A. Abraham can be reached at 330-996-3737 or labraham@thebeaconjournal.com.

 

If the words ''fine cuisine'' and ''football stadium'' don't typically go together in your mind, it's probably because you haven't spent a lot of time sitting in posh private suites and loges.

Get the full article here.

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