Everton Football Club has partnered with food and drink service provider Aramark in what has been described as one of the biggest commercial deals in the club’s history.
As part of the agreement, Aramark will receive the title of founding partner of the new 52,888-capacity Everton Stadium which is aimed to be fully operational for the 2025-26 season.
The finances of the partnership has not been disclosed but the economic benefits to the community are claimed to be sizeable as it is due to create around 1,200 jobs.
“This is a landmark partnership for the Club and we are delighted to welcome Aramark as a founding partner,” said Everton’s chief commercial and communications officer Richard Kenyon.
“Their mission to set the standard for excellence and their alignment with our vision to create exceptional experiences for Evertonians really resonated with us.
“Aramark understands what goes into and what is required to deliver high profile and multi-purpose venues. As we look forward to the Club’s bright future at our new home, we are focused on working together to deliver the right type of experience for every fan and every visitor, both within the stadium and on The Plaza.
“By utilising Aramark’s global expertise across many industries, we will be adopting the very latest in retail technology to make a visit to Everton Stadium an amazing experience for every Evertonian.
“Evertonians deserve the best and we are working with a global industry leader in Aramark to offer unrivalled experiences at our new home.”
Aramark is set to implement technology aimed at minimising wait times and enhancing fan satisfaction including ‘frictionless’ operations.
These frictionless stores will include self-service beer systems, food and beverage offers, and kitchen collection points.
Aramark is set to work alongside Everton to design food and drink offerings that will be flexible and seasonally adapting.
More than 1,200 new roles will be created at the stadium and through wider development initiatives.
“We are thrilled to be a Founding Partner and chosen as the Culinary Experiences Partner for Everton,” said chief executive and president of Aramark UK Helen Milligan-Smith.
“Our shared commitment to delivering remarkable experiences means we are developing something truly extraordinary for the launch of the new stadium.
“It’s important to us that we go above and beyond to forge strong connections not only with our venues, but with the wider community too.
“The introduction of a new social enterprise programme is a great example of this, and we look forward to working with Everton in the Community to champion local produce and provide training and job opportunities to local people across Liverpool.”
