No more franks for fans of Yanks?

Centerplate Inc., which has been serving up hot dogs to Yankees fans this spring at Legends Field in Tampa, Fla., reportedly may not move with the team to the new Yankee Stadium in 2009.
The Yankees plan to sever ties with the Stamford concessions company when the new stadium opens, according to a report in Sports Business Journal, instead operating food stands itself. Centerplate has served up food at Yankee Stadium for more than 30 years.
The revelation sent Centerplate shares tumbling from $16 to below $14 on the American Stock Exchange, but the issue quickly recovered.
Yankee Stadium sales accounted for approximately $65 million in Centerplate revenue in 2006, making the stadium Centerplate”™s most important source of sales. Centerplate earned $3.5 million on $681 million in revenue in 2006, with sales up 6 percent from 2005.
Centerplate provides service to six Major League Baseball teams, which it says makes it the third-largest concessionaire, and has 10 NFL clients, making it the second-largest concessionaire.
In Fairfield County, Centerplate operates concessions stands for the Bridgeport Bluefish minor-league baseball team, at the Arena at Harbor Yards in Bridgeport and at Fairfield University basketball games.
In its recent annual report, Centerplate indicated 26 of its 127 concession contracts are scheduled to expire this year, but added its average client relationship lasts 17 years.
The company has 1,500 full-time employees, and in 2006 employed another 27,000 people on a part-time or event-by-event basis. The company”™s primary supplier is SYSCO Corp.
According to Food Management magazine, Centerplate is the fifth-largest contractor in the industry after Compass Group of Charlotte, N.C., Aramark Corp. of Philadelphia, Sodexho USA of Gaithersburg, Md., and Delaware North Corp. of Buffalo, N.Y.