Sharks to bite into catering

The Sharks have notified food catering companies at the Kings Park Stadium that the franchise intends taking over all catering at the stadium, including in private suites.

The Sharks have notified food catering companies at the Kings Park Stadium that the franchise intends taking over all catering at the stadium, including in private suites.

Published Jan 28, 2015

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Durban -

The Sharks have notified food catering companies at the Kings Park Stadium that the franchise intends taking over all catering at the stadium, including in private suites - a move that will jeopardise businesses making a living from rugby matches.

Caterers that continue to operate at the stadium once the takeover takes effect could be charged a hefty portion of their turnover, a figure they say could be as much as 20%.

One catering company, the owner of which asked to stay anonymous, said this would mean a 600% jump from the current R40 000 flat fee to a fee of R240 000.

Sharks chief operating officer Lance Wayne said, however, that this figure was not definite and that negotiations were still under way to determine the “best method and value to be charged”.

He said suite holders would still be able to choose their preferred caterers, including the Sharks’ newly formed venture with Eatfresh, called The Sharks’ Kitchen.

In addition to providing catering for the suites, Wayne said the entity would cater for more than 200 junior, senior and academy players every day, as well as for kiosks and stalls around the stadium, internal catering for the President’s Suite, and for various suites on match days.

Most catering companies only found out about the planned move last week, and, since being informed, company owners and directors have been in and out of meetings as they try to grapple with what could be a crisis for many of them, especially those for whom the suite contracts form the majority of their work.

A Durban-based company owner explained that although current contracts would not be affected, the Sharks’ intention to take control over all catering meant that its joint venture would get “first bite” at any new contracts or opportunities - and this was if existing caterers were even informed of new contracts.

“What has really got us up in arms is that the Sharks have not been very transparent about the whole issue. The process they have followed has caused massive upheaval and left a lot of caterers very disgruntled. If they had just clearly communicated their intentions with us and involved us then the effect may not have been so bad,” the owner said.

According to sources, the catering at the stadium was now provided by about six accredited caterers, each of which had been at the stadium for 15 to 36 years. In total, the six had more than 100 years’ combined work at Kings Park.

However, the Sharks’ intention, as understood by the caterers, was that the catering be handled by one accredited catering service provider, and although suite holders could choose to use their own caterers, those caterers would have to cough up a significant percentage of their turnover.

“The intention of the Sharks is to make money wherever they can, seeing as television coverage has reduced the number of people who attend matches at the stadium. And this is not a bad thing from their point of view. But for many of us it is our lifeline,” one owner said.

A representative of a catering consortium, which holds contracts for private suites at Kings Park and other rugby stadiums in the country, equated the situation to a “scandal”.

He said confidential e-mails were “doing the rounds” and that it appeared to be a situation of caterers either agreeing to the Sharks’ terms or losing their footprints at the stadium.

He said, however, that he remained hopeful that the situation could be averted as the consortium did not want to lose its footprint at the Durban stadium.

Other caterers were hoping that a meeting with the Sharks next month would shed light on the situation and result in a decision to suit all parties.

Lance explained that global best practice among leading sports franchises and stadium owners was to keep all properties and services in-house.

“As a private company, we need to maximise returns for the shareholders (and also) allow us to expand the business and the size/quality of our rugby squad and rugby development in the province.”

He said the franchise had discovered many unaccredited caterers operating within the stadium which it felt could affect health and safety.

The Mercury

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