Aramark Sports + Entertainment Turns up the Heat for the 2026-27 Arena Season With Locally Inspired, Personalized Fan Experiences

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 29, 2026--

As NBA and NHL teams prepare for the 2026-27 season, Aramark Sports + Entertainment (NYSE: ARMK) is announcing new enhancements to the fan experience across its seven arena partner venues focusing on local customization and premium offerings designed to reflect the team and city that its fans call home.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260929139472/en/

“No two venues or fan bases are exactly alike, and the experience shouldn’t be either,” said Alison Birdwell, CEO of Aramark Sports + Entertainment. "Our approach is to combine the scale and expertise of Aramark's hospitality platform with experiences that reflect the culture, energy, and identity of each market. Whether through local restaurant partnerships, regional menu development, or premium hospitality innovations, we're focused on helping our partners create experiences that fans won't find anywhere else."

From new local partnerships to regionalized cuisine, each venue will offer an experience that feels one-of-a-kind to visitors.

Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, is enhancing its premium hospitality experience with the debut of The Collective and broader reimagining of multiple premium spaces, including the Founders, Signature, Executive, and Innovative Suites. Featuring sophisticated new designs, enhanced amenities, and a variety of new culinary offerings, these upgrades are designed to deliver an elevated guest experience. The Vault Suites will introduce a Chef Residency Program, showcasing a rotating lineup of acclaimed local chefs and restaurants, while new concession partners will include beloved regional concepts such as Joia Burger and Balos.

At San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center, the Spurs Culinary Residency Program will return this season, giving local and minority-owned restaurants a platform to share their individual culinary creations to Spurs fans throughout the year. Participating businesses will rotate through designated locations in the arena, expanding the range of distinctive San Antonio flavors available on gameday. The arena will also introduce Local Co., bringing together house-made menu items and products from local vendors in another showcase of the city’s culinary community.

Additionally, the venue is expanding its premium experience with LedgerCourtside Club, its leading Spurs hospitality experience, combining courtside seating with a private, all-inclusive club on the event level. The expansion will accommodate up to 100 additional fans and combines proximity to the action with a three-course chef’s-table dinner, in-seat beverage service, VIP access, reserved parking, and access to the glass player tunnel.

In Cleveland’s Rocket Arena, local connection takes a different form with Delia’s —a new concept inspired by Cleveland restaurant Cordelia and James Beard Award finalist Chef Vinnie Cimino. The arena is continuing to build its premium hospitality experience through HIPP Club, an intimate concept inspired by the city’s historic Hippodrome Theater that includes an exclusive entrance, chef-curated dining, custom cocktails, a premier wine list, and unlimited concessions, as well as access to the rest of Rocket Arena’s clubs. The concept was recently awarded the National Basketball Association’s Premium Experience of the Year honors. Additional enhancements this season include a renovated Swenson’s location, a new Tenders Love & Chicken space, and the new CLE Cocktail Co. bar area.

At Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, premium hospitality takes center stage with renovations to the ice-level restaurant, enhancements to private clubs Brookstreet Lounge and Club Bell, and a fully renovated Player's Lounge. The upgraded club spaces will feature modular action stations with live cooking demonstrations and rotating menus, while the reimagined Player's Lounge will offer a refreshed menu and be available for private events. New bar concepts, including Ottawa Cocktail Co., will also debut throughout the arena. Complementing these enhanced spaces is a menu inspired by the flavors of the Great White North, featuring Canadian bison, poutine, smoked meat, peameal bacon, maple mustard, and house-baked bread inspired by Indigenous Bannock traditions.

That same venue-specific approach extends across the rest of Aramark’s Sports + Entertainment arena portfolio.

At SAP Center in San Jose, the customized approach takes on a distinctly Sharks-inspired identity. Tidal Grit, a new bourbon created for the arena, features a signature mash bill developed in partnership with a Kentucky distillery. Fans will also see new and refreshed destinations throughout the arena, including the Big Beautiful Bar and a Tenders Love and Chicken grab-and-go location. Specialty food and souvenir offerings include a rink-shaped Sharks-branded food and beverage combo tray and the “Chum Bucket,” a chef-designed craft popcorn creation.

In Pittsburgh, at PPG Paints Arena, a new Insta-Grill will feature a rotating menu inspired by current culinary trends, while new retail offerings will connect fans to Penguins history with exclusive merchandise celebrating the franchise’s 60 th anniversary, the 10-year anniversary of the 2017 Stanley Cup championship team, and the 2026 Penguins Hall of Fame class.

Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena continues to draw inspiration from the city’s diverse culinary scene, with offerings that reflect the range of cultures and cuisines found throughout Philadelphia. From refreshed concepts by acclaimed chefs Marc Vetri and Jose Garces, to new menus across concessions, clubs and suites, the approach brings a broad mix of flavors and influences into the arena.

Explore the complete lineup of new food, beverage, and fan experiences across Aramark Sports + Entertainment’s arena partnershere.

PHOTOS HERE

About Aramark Sports + Entertainment

Aramark Sports + Entertainment serves more than 150 award-winning food and beverage and retail programs in premier professional and collegiate stadiums and arenas along with convention centers, cultural attractions, performance venues, and unique entertainment destinations across North America. The company has received accolades for industry innovations including autonomous markets and dining concepts powered by artificial intelligence and has provided hospitality services at high-profile sporting events like the MLB World Series, MLB at Rickwood Field, NBA All-Star, and Indianapolis 500. Visit Aramark Sports + Entertainment's website to learn more or connect on LinkedIn.

Aramark Sports + Entertainment Turns up the Heat for the 2026-27 Arena Season With Locally Inspired, Personalized Fan Experiences

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Estonian authorities said Tuesday that an arson attack carried out last month on a defense company that provides military vehicles to Ukraine was an act of sabotage commissioned by Russian security services.

Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that “such actions are absolutely unacceptable” and that Russia's charge d'affaires in Tallinn was being summoned to his ministry.

A fire broke out overnight on Aug. 15 at a building in the Estonian capital used by Milrem Robotics, but was quickly brought under control, the BNS news agency reported. On Aug. 17, two Latvian suspects were detained in neighboring Latvia, and a third followed the next day. The suspects were handed over to Estonia.

Milrem has supplied THeMIS unmanned ground vehicles to Ukraine.

The Estonian Internal Security Service said that it has concluded that the arson attack “was a deliberate and pre-planned act commissioned by Russian security services.”

It said in a statement that “the modus operandi of the Milrem attack is consistent with other acts of sabotage carried out in Europe on behalf of Russia,” adding that it “assesses that the attack is directly attributable to the Russian Federation.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that “such statements are unfounded, ill-considered, absolutely not reflecting the reality, not containing any substantiation whatsoever.”

“We cannot take such statements seriously, and we won’t,” Peskov said.

Moscow has been widely accused by Western officials of running a campaign of sabotage and disruption with the aim of undermining support for Ukraine and destabilizing European nations.

The Associated Press has tracked around 200 incidents of sabotage and malign activity across Europe blamed on Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

That includes organizing plots to set fire to warehouses, launching drones and trying to kill enemies abroad as well as stealing defense technology and carrying out cyberattacks on critical European infrastructure.

In a recent case that pointed to an escalation of such activity, Germany blamed Russia for an attempted attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport in early August using a drone laden with explosives.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal wrote on X that “we will not be intimidated.”

FILE -Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna speaks during a meeting of foreign ministers and state secretaries from the Nordic-Baltic Eight, in Chisinau, Moldova, Oct.15, 2024. (AP Photo/Aurel Obreja, File)