Pollstar Announces 2026 Excellence In Concessions Awards Winners

The popular, VenuesNow-born Excellence In Concessions awards highlight and recognize the importance of the food and beverage industry to not only traditional concert and sports venues, but as a key revenue and experience-driver for the live entertainment industry – from the biggest stadium or racetrack event to the smallest dive bar.

This year’s award winners, as selected by Pollstar’s editorial staff with input from the industry, highlight major hospitality-driven projects that touch on the entire business, such as new self-serve drink stations at Honda Center in Anaheim, California, which is undergoing a $1 billion renovation as part of the multibillion-dollar OC Vibe mixed-use development driven by the Anaheim Ducks, who play at and operate the arena. It’s a prime example of live entertainment anchoring major urban developments – bolstered by hospitality.

Another example is the Vinyl Room at the Palladium in Los Angeles, a unique take on hospitality spaces that speaks to music fans of all types and brings a personal touch to the storied venue.

Core food service categories include Best New Menu Item, which showcases the creativity from those behind the scenes and reflects the insatiable appetite for the concert- and game-goer at large. This year’s winner, the Mini Dessert “Chicken” Bucket At Yankee Stadium, is a fun take on two classic concessions stand favorites.

Signature drinks continue to be a hit, with this year’s honoree going to the First Serve Cocktail at Credit One Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. Themed after the marquee Credit One Charleston Open tennis tournament, the venue moved more than 25,000 units of the drink in just nine days.

Demonstrating the tie-in to the concert promotion and touring side of the hospitality industry are examples like the New York bodega-inspired Lady Gaga takeover at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, making the Manhattan-born star feel at home and taking her Little Monsters fanbase into a new setting within the arena.

Sustainability goes hand-in-hand with food service, as Pollstar continues to show efforts toward a greener live industry. This year that includes the Rescue a Reef initiative at Kaseya Center in Miami, which has seen significant waste reduction within its walls and is making an impact on its community and ecosystem.

And, oh yeah, there’s also multiple food items at venues across the country named after WME music head Kirk Sommer. Favorites include“Captain Kirk’s Top Dog,” “Kaptain Kirk’s Macho Nachos at The Bill Graham Civic,” as well as “Kirk Sommer’s Fried Pickles,” “The El Kapitan Kirk Nachos,” Kirk’s Killer Queso” and (probably) more.

Promoters, such as I.M.P. head Seth Hurwitz who offers the Kirk’s Summer Sundae at Merriweather Post Pavilion, may well welcome the opportunity to sell something rather than buy it from an agent for a change.

Best New Menu Item
Mini Dessert ‘Chicken’ Bucket At Yankee Stadium

Best New Concept in Food & Drink
The “SEAcret Door” At T-Mobile Park

Best New/Refurbished Space in Food & Drink
Vinyl Room in the Hollywood Palladium

Best New Technology
Draft Picks Perfect Pour, Honda Center

Best Sustainability Initiative
Rescue A Reef, Kaseya Center

Best Signature Drink
First Serve Cocktail at the Credit One Charleston Open

Best Special Event Food & Beverage Program
BodeGAGA Experience at Climate Pledge Arena

Best New Retail Item
Live Nation’s Shaker Cup Cocktail Koozie

Editor’s Choice
Kirk’s Summer Sundae At Merriweather Post Pavilion