Preds, Bridgestone Arena Reveal New Food Offerings, Renovations for Upcoming Season

When arriving to Bridgestone Arena for a Preds game this season, come hungry. Your taste buds will thank you shortly thereafter.

Always one of the most anticipated days leading into a fresh campaign, the Predators and Delaware North Sportservice unveiled a number of new and reimagined food items on Monday, including snacks and entrees available throughout the building.

Offseason renovations to Bridgestone Arena were also highlighted as anticipation for Opening Night on Oct. 9 continues to build, and fans are sure to be satisfied in more ways than one.

“We’re really lucky that we have such a great ownership group and an executive group that wants to spend the money and wants to be here and wants to keep the Arena one of the best in the world,” Preds Senior Vice President of Strategic Operations and Relations Danny Butler said. “It really is exciting.”

As soon as the 2024-25 season concluded back in April, work began on updating areas in and around the Predators locker room, and those projects are now ready to be enjoyed.

The players’ lounge - a communal space that is essential for a professional hockey team to gather, share a meal and just hang out - is just off the main locker room, and it was doubled in size. What was formerly the training room has now been added to the space of the lounge, and the expansion allowed for a built-in kitchen with plenty of serving areas, seating options and different spaces that simply didn’t exist in the previous iteration.

The trainers' room - which includes offices for Predators Head Athletic Trainer Kevin Morley and his staff - increased in size to allow more space for players to receive treatments and care at all times.

Additionally, the Preds have added a recovery room - complete with hot tubs, cold tubs, hyperbaric chambers, Shiftwave systems, light therapy and more - all designed to provide players with improved opportunities for around-the-clock rejuvenation.

What was once one of the smallest spaces in the League for those types of endeavors is now one of the largest, and in the grand scheme of things, the additions make quite a difference.

“It really is another great investment that we made…[about $5 million] spent in the Preds locker room,” Butler said. “As [Preds CEO] Sean [Henry has] mentioned, the season didn't go exactly the way we wanted to last year, but that doesn't mean we're going to stop investing in the team.”

Once the team exits their new facilities for the ice, fans will notice a number of changes in the game presentation aspects of the Preds experience.

The organization is adding cryo jets along the glass at the ends of the rink to shoot plumes of celebratory “cold fog” or vapor to go off during big moments throughout the game. Additionally improvements have been made to Predators organ player Krazy Kyle’s setup, and a DJ booth has also been constructed for in-house DJs to spin tunes throughout the game from a more permanent spot.

Coupled with new hype and intro videos, in-game activations with in-arena host Wayne D, new sketches filmed with Preds players and more, the entertainment between whistles will be almost as good as what’s on the ice.

And then there’s the food.

No sporting experience is complete without unique culinary creations, and Bridgestone Arena is no exception.

This season, the Delaware North Sportservice team has upped their game and rolled out a number of new offerings for fans with all different tastes, and there’s something nearby to enjoy no matter where your seat is.

Starting with dessert usually isn’t the norm, but if you arrive into the building from the Nissan Entrance off the Bridgestone Arena plaza, it’ll be tough to ignore the new gelato stand outside of Section 101. Scooped gelato in a Preds goalie mask, a gelato float in a color-changing cup and a super sundae in a large goalie mask are all available for a sweet treat.

Nearby, the Gnash Grilled Cheese and Grinders stand outside of Section 122 features three new grinder sandwiches, including the FUGGETABOUTIT Grinder with ham, salami, pepperoni, mozzarella, lettuce, tomato, onion and Italian dressing on a hoagie roll.

At the Puckett’s BBQ Stands at Sections 101, don’t miss out on the stuffed baked potato with cheese, sour cream, scallions and an option to upgrade with BBQ meat and sauce. At all three Puckett’s stands (101, 112, 323), check out the BBQ pork nachos and a BBQ burrito.

The highlight at the food court burger stand at Section 102 is the new Broadway Glazed Honey Stack - a honey bun bottom with a burger, cheddar, bacon, BBQ sauce and a donut top. The Enforcer Mushroom Swiss Burger is also available with grilled mushrooms and onions, Swiss cheese, burger patty and steakhouse aioli.

Once upstairs, the Smashville State Fair stand at Section 317 is sure to become a new Arena favorite with fried pickles, jalapeño poppers and mini apple pies, in addition to Americana chili cheese fries with chili, cheese and grilled onions; carne asada fries with white queso, pico de gallo, steak and sour cream; and cheeseburger fries piled high with ground beef, cheese sauce, onion, lettuce, tomato and Preds sauce.

Other new concession items around the Arena include a pork tenderloin sandwich (Sec. 105, 208, 325), the GM bologna cheese sandwich (Sec. 104), a Korean fried chicken sandwich (Sec. 109) and a raspberry cheesecake chimichanga (Sec. 103, 310, 317).

Specials on the suite level include a taco board, roasted rib roast, roasted chicken, loaded totchos, a smoked pork sandwich, berry cobbler and fried cheesecake. The BetMGM Sports Lounge also has a number of new offerings including a pork belly Cuban sandwich, a turkey burger, fried green tomatoes, southern chicken egg rolls, a baby greens berry salad and a burrata salad (all of which were excellent, by the way).

All in all, the culinary offerings inside Bridgestone Arena have never been better, and you’re sure to be glad you waited to eat dinner at 501 Broadway.