Sodexo is returning to sell the pies and pints at the John Smith’s Stadium.
The catering giant will also look after all hospitality contracts at the venue after signing up an eight-year deal.
It marks a return to the Stadium for Sodexo, who held the contract in the late 1990s.
They have now taken over from Lindley Catering and will provide matchday and non-matchday hospitality, retail catering and conference and events catering and sales.
Most of the existing staff have transferred to London-based Sodexo although a number have stayed with Lindley.
Sodexo will also provide the catering for the stadium’s home teams, Huddersfield Town and Huddersfield Giants. The 24,500-seater stadium has a Business and Conference Centre and plans are in place for a retail café operation at the stadium.
Jeremy Dicks, divisional director for Sodexo Prestige, Sodexo’s Sports, Leisure & Travel division, said: “This is an exciting new partnership enabling us to build on our existing stadia portfolio in the North. We look forward to using our wealth of experience in sports stadia catering and hospitality as well as sales of conference and events space to the benefit of the John Smith’s stadium.”
The company has similar deals at other stadia including Newcastle United, Everton and Brighton.
Gareth Davies, managing director of Kirklees Stadium Development Ltd, said: “The KSDL Board has been considering the future development of catering at the John Smith’s Stadium for some time. All parties on the board agreed the need for change and I am therefore very pleased to welcome Sodexo as our new catering partner. They are a large and very experienced group. What has also been very apparent from our discussions is their great enthusiasm to work with all of the stadium partners, individually and collectively, to achieve excellence in all aspects of catering at the stadium.”
Nigel Clibbens, chief executive, Huddersfield Town, said: “Catering is a vitally important part of the supporter experience on a matchday and also at club events. We look forward to working together with Sodexo in a new way that will bring real improvements and be beneficial for everyone.’”
Richard Thewlis, managing director, Huddersfield Giants, said: “Sodexo is a very impressive company with enormous experience. We look forward to working closely with them to develop our supporter experience.”
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