Aramark Sports + Entertainment serves more than 100 award-winning food and beverage, retail, and facility service programs in premier stadiums, arenas, and convention centers across North America. Collectively, these locations serve millions of people each year. In order to manage the wear and tear that intense usage causes, and to stay ahead of changing consumer tastes and preferences, Aramark Sports + Entertainment has to maintain a near-constant regime of renovations and upgrades throughout its portfolio.

Over the past three and a half years, JLL has been the project manager for 11 Aramark Sports + Entertainment projects worth $70 million, all of which have been a resounding success. Additional assignments include the renovations to outlets at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and full project management services for Liberty Science Center in New Jersey. The secret to that success has been early collaboration and an approach that’s effective and replicable but also customizable. 

“Being involved earlier in the process has allowed projects to run faster and more smoothly as compared to JLL being brought on later,” said Project Manager Ben Milley. “Although each project involves different clients and contractors, a lot of the stakeholders are similar, including architects and designers. That allows us to follow the same general game plan for each project, rather than reinventing the wheel every time.”

An important component of the Aramark Sports + Entertainment-JLL process is a review of key learnings from past projects. These shared experiences and familiarity allow the teams to quickly mobilize on new projects, which is especially important when you must abide by sports, entertainment and convention schedules. The JLL and Aramark Sports + Entertainment teams collaborate closely to develop a customized and transparent plan, which enables us to effectively manage project status. This includes strategies to mitigate risks, optimize cost savings for the client, ensure the critical path of the project remains on schedule, and implement precautionary measures to limit any potential exposure for the Aramark Sports + Entertainment team during the project.

“JLL has been a reliable and trusted partner of ours for years. Their guidance in areas beyond our expertise has been invaluable, and together, our partnership has played a pivotal role in the successful completion of numerous renovation projects.”

Jamie Slotterback, VP, Strategy + CXD