Delaware North celebrates the opening of The Stadium in The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Led by Commercial Operations Director Sue Creed, team members from all over Delaware North’s United Kingdom operation recently came together to help mobilize the opening of The Stadium in The Queen Elizabeth Park.

Delaware North was appointed earlier this year as the stadium’s food and beverage partner. The team has been hard at work since March 2015 – overcoming obstacles with refurbishments taking place at every turn – preparing for the reopening of this iconic venue.

The events kick-started July 19, 2015, with a test event, the Great Newham Run, in which 13,000 participants ran 10 kilometers around the park and crossed the finish line in the stadium. The next weekend saw the return of world-class athletics at the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games, which took place July 24-26. A full program of events featured incredible headliners – including Usain Bolt and Mo Farah, who were joined by a host of Olympic and world champions.

Leading up to the weekend, the team worked incredibly hard to overcome the stadium still having the look and feel of a construction site. In fact, the catering areas were only handed over for service a few hours prior to the gates opening on the Friday evening before the event. Despite that, everybody pulled together and delivered a successful weekend; 350 Delaware North employees operated three hospitality lounges and 20 kiosks – exceeding forecast sales targets by selling more than 80,000 products, 7,000 pies and 7,000 cups of tea.

“To have the opportunity to reopen the prestigious Olympic Stadium in London is a huge honor,” Creed said. “I have been delighted to lead a fantastic team under testing circumstances. Although the stadium was effectively a building site until six hours before we opened, everyone in the team went the extra mile to deliver a food and beverage offer to over 40,000 athletics fans; I am so proud of them all.

“The day was topped off by watching Usain Bolt cross the line! After four days of athletics, the stadium has now reverted to a construction site as we continue the preparations for the Rugby World Cup, when Delaware North will welcome over 250,000 rugby enthusiasts to the stadium.”