City spending board OKs Baltimore Convention Center’s 10-year concessions contract with Levy

The Baltimore Board of Estimates on Wednesday approved Levy as the new concessions operator inside the Baltimore Convention Center despite the objections of another vendor who was passed over for the contract.

In Baltimore, Levy already manages concessions for Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where it took over from longtime vendor Delaware North last season. The Chicago-based hospitality company has also submitted a bid to manage food and drink sales at M&T Bank Stadium for the Ravens, who announced this month that they would end their longstanding relationship with Aramark four seasons before the existing concessions contract is set to expire.

At the convention center, Levy will take on a 10-year contract to oversee catering and food and beverage sales for trade shows, corporate meetings and other events. The company will also operate a coffee shop inside the center.

Board members voted unanimously to select Levy for the revenue-generating contract, which has a commission-based structure expected to generate “sizable revenue” for the city, according to Baltimore Convention Center executive director Mac Campbell.

In a statement, Levy CEO Andy Lansing said the company is “beyond thrilled” to partner with the convention center “to showcase what makes this city an incredible destination.”

“From the most high-profile national events and corporate meetings to special occasions, we’ll spotlight Baltimore’s food and beverage culture in unique ways,” Lansing said.

In a news release, convention center officials said they will prioritize partnering with community organizations and minority- and women-owned businesses, as well as invest in sustainability initiatives such as buying from local vendors and reducing food waste.

Levy will replace Sodexo Live!, the hospitality company that purchased food and beverage operator Centerplate in 2018. Centerplate/Sodexo’s contract at the convention center had been in place since 2009, and was prolonged, according to Campbell, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, when the convention center was used as a field hospital, vaccination and testing site.

Campbell called the change “bittersweet” but said it followed a “rigorous nationwide selection process.” Three vendors, including Levy and Sodexo Live!, applied for the concessions contract after the city issued a request for proposals last year.

In a letter to the Board of Estimates, Sodexo Live! vice president for strategic growth Kay Towner said the contract decision was “disappointing” and highlighted her company’s work in the community through partnerships with minority-owned businesses and a seat on the Baltimore Convention & Tourism Board.

But Towner stopped short of protesting Levy’s selection.

“We respect the committee’s recommendation and recognize it was not an easy one to make,” she wrote. “If the Board of Estimates would like to entertain additional conversations with Sodexo Live!, or further review our proposal, we welcome these discussions. Like you, we are committed to ensuring the right decision is made for the City and Center.”

A third applicant did, however, lodge a complaint at the board’s hearing Wednesday.

Wayne Resnick, president of Baltimore-based Martin’s Caterers, said his catering company partnered with Aramark on a bid for the convention center contract. He took issue with the months-long RFP process and what he alleged was a lack of communication from procurement officials.

“This process has been going on for nine months with no answers, nothing from the city, no answer where this was in the process,” Resnick said. “Now that it’s been awarded, we were notified last Thursday, [and] we have three days to figure out what’s going on.”

Adam Manne, Baltimore’s chief procurement officer, said the process needed to be lengthy when it came to the convention center’s “complex” contract.

“We took our time to get it right,” he said. “I feel we have done our due diligence.”

Levy also manages concessions at Commanders Field (formerly FedEx Field) in Landover, as well as Nationals Park and Audi Field in the Washington, D.C., and Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen. The company’s convention business includes contracts at the Javits Center in New York, the Austin Convention Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The new concessions contract comes as the aging Baltimore Convention Center plans for future renovations. The center, which opened in 1979, recently received $25.7 million in state funds to put towards improvements. A bill working its way through the Maryland General Assembly this legislative session would create a task force to study the creation of a Baltimore Convention and Tourism Redevelopment and Operating Authority to spearhead revitalization projects at the convention center, which had its last major expansion and renovation in 1996.

Reporter Dillon Mullan contributed to this story.