The Las Vegas Raiders have signed Oak View Group as the official food and beverage provider of Allegiant Stadium. The longtime arena and stadium operator, which has focused on developing a new arena for a potential NBA expansion team, is being brought on to elevate the concession offerings for Raiders games and other events hosted at the five-year-old venue.
OVG replaces Levy Restaurants, which was hired to manage the stadium’s hospitality in 2019, a year before its opening. In a LinkedIn post last Thursday, Levy anticipated the end of the deal with the Raiders, citing Mark Davis’ selling of a minority share in the franchise to Silver Lake co-CEO Egon Durban. Silver Lake is an investor in OVG.
Chris Granger, president of the company’s venue management arm OVG360, said that an informal introduction to Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan several weeks ago sparked longer conversations before OVG made an unsolicited bid to service the stadium.
“I think the concepts piqued their interest as we talked about everything ranging from enhanced premium to local purveyors of food and beverage to how do we operate food and beverage sustainably,” Granger said in a phone interview. “I think all those things were interesting enough that it led to more serious conversations. And then ultimately, we landed on a spot where I think we were able to convey how a partnership with our group would make their lives better for the long run.”
Oak View Group, which has a wide portfolio of venues and clients, will take over Allegiant Stadium’s hospitality on April 1.
OVG made the agreement while working on plans to build its own arena in Vegas to house a long-speculated NBA franchise. The 25-acre project was originally slated to open in 2026, but the NBA has yet to move forward on any expansion proposals, with rumors that other cities such as Mexico City remain in consideration. OVG’s project is not the only one in Vegas, as another bidder for a potential NBA team entered the fray with mixed-use development plans last April.
While the company did not provide an update on its NBA-to-Vegas plans, Granger brought up its management of the Las Vegas Grand Prix for Formula 1 as part of a deepening relationship with the city. “Las Vegas, quite simply, is the most important entertainment market in the world,” he said. “It’s a place that we as Oak View Group need to be in, given what we do on a daily basis.”
The city also anticipates the arrival of the Athletics. The MLB team, which will spend its next three seasons in Sacramento, is still trying to round the bases toward building a baseball-only stadium on the famed Las Vegas Strip.
(This story has been updated with comment from Chris Granger and details on OVG replacing Levy Restaurants.)
