M&T Bank Stadium officially has a new concessionaire.
Baltimore’s liquor board on Thursday approved a Class “B” Beer, Wine and Liquor Arena license for Levy Maryland LLC, which was named earlier this year to be the new exclusive concessionaire for the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium at 1100 Russell St. in Camden Yards.
In March, the Ravens entered into a partnership with Levy to become the team’s official food, beverage and hospitality partner. It replaced Aramark Sports + Entertainment, which handled concessions at M&T Bank Stadium since 2003.
The liquor board’s action authorizes Levy to sell beer, wine and liquor by the drink and by the bottle within the stadium, from more than one location, for on-premises consumption.
Levy Maryland is an affiliate of Levy Premium Food Service Limited Partnership of Chicago, Illinois, which does business as Levy Restaurants. According to the application approved this week, the individuals on the license are Eric Fitzgerald, a resident of Columbia, Maryland, and Benjamin Carter, a resident of Crofton, Maryland. No residents of Baltimore City were listed in the application. According to Section 12-1001 of the Maryland Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article in the state code, a city resident is not required for this category of license.
Levy Premium Food Service Limited Partnership has 74 percent of the stock in the entity that holds the liquor license. Carter holds 25 percent of the stock and Fitzgerald holds one percent.
In order to obtain an arena liquor license in Baltimore, a company must make a minimum capital investment of $1 million in a stadium or arena, and the venue must seat at least 1,000 people as determined by Baltimore’s Fire Department.
Linda Carter, an attorney for Levy, told the liquor board that its application more than meets those requirements.
She said the Ravens and Maryland Stadium Authority have planned $430 million in state-funded improvements to the stadium, which opened in 1998, and work is “already significantly underway.”
In addition, the stadium currently has 71,008 seats and another 128 seats are being added at field level, she said. The stadium has an average attendance of 70,597 people per game, which means that only about 400 seats are empty per game, she added.
