VOL 27 ISSUE 22, June 1, 2026
As the sports experience for fans continues to evolve, Delaware North is helping lead what’s next. In a recent interview with Total Food Service, Tom Barney, president of Sportservice, shared his perspective on the future of stadium foodservice – from elevating quality and speed of service to embracing technology and local partnerships that enhance the fan experience.
Below are several excerpts from the conversation, which highlights how innovation, flexibility and guest‑first thinking are shaping the next chapter of sports hospitality.
How would you describe the complexity of managing concessions and suite dining across Major League Baseball venues?
An MLB ballpark is like a small city that has to come alive on a schedule – and then do it again and again. You’re managing thousands of transactions in narrow time windows, with staffing, supply chain, food safety and service standards that have to be consistent even when the building, footprint, and fan behavior are different in every market. And you’re really running two businesses at once: high-volume concessions where speed is everything, and premium hospitality where personalization and timing matter just as much as the food.
When you look across ballparks today, what are the core best practices that separate a good concessions and suite dining program from a truly great one?
To me, “great” starts with one truth: fans want good food, and they want it fast. If you don’t win on speed and reliability, it doesn’t matter how good the menu looks on paper. The best programs have a clear operating playbook: They standardize what should be standardized and then leave room for local personality. And they’re always improving, using technology and process to remove friction and get people back to their seats.
Building and retaining strong teams at each stadium is critical—what is your approach to recruiting, training and developing talent across multiple venues and markets?
We treat talent like a competitive advantage. The approach is pretty simple: Hire for attitude, train for skill and build clear paths so people can see what’s next. We also put a lot of emphasis on repeatable training – consistent onboarding, shared standards and cross-venue support – while still empowering leaders on the ground to run their building with pride. And we try to develop bench strength so we’re not rebuilding every season; we’re building careers.
For culinary professionals considering this segment, what kind of career path can they build within Sportservice and Delaware North?
This is a great segment for culinarians because you can build a career that’s both creative and operational – you learn volume, execution, leadership and how to deliver quality at speed. And Delaware North is big enough that you don’t have to stay in one lane. My own career has moved across multiple businesses within Delaware North, and that same kind of mobility exists for chefs and culinary leaders who want to grow.
Fans still expect tradition – does a great hot dog still have a central place on MLB menus, and how are you balancing nostalgia with innovation?
Even though menus are more diverse than ever – and that’s something our fans certainly want – the hot dog is still king in baseball. Ballparks are built on tradition, and there’s a reason that certain classics are always going to be part of the experience. To that end, fans consumed 124,000 hot dogs alone across Opening Day this year at our 10 ballpark locations. The balance is to keep the classics strong, and then create room for new ideas through toppings, limited-time items and regionally inspired options and brand partners.
What is the one piece of advice you would share based on your experience at Sportservice?
Obsess over the guest experience – and make speed a feature, not an afterthought. Fans will forgive a lot, but they won’t forgive missing the action because they were stuck in line. And build systems that your teams can execute consistently – because consistency is what turns a good program into a trusted one.