CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Beer leaking from the ceiling, moldy cream cheese, and food being touched with bare hands.
Those were just some of the issues found in alarming food safety inspection reports for the Spectrum Center and Bank of America Stadium over the last two years.
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ESPN reviewed more than 16,000 reports for 111 professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey facilities in the United States.
According to its study, the Spectrum Center had the highest violation rates, not just among all NBA facilities, but among all facilities in the entire country.
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In December 2016, inspectors saw beer leaking from the ceiling, and in February of that year, inspectors watched bartenders use their bare hands to put limes in drinks.
Bank of America Stadium did not fare much better, ranking as the worst NFL facility in the country and fourth-worst across all sports.
Inspectors said that in June 2016, they found moldy, expired cream cheese along with expired deli meats and cheeses.
In August, inspectors found employees "unaware of when to wash their hands."
That September, inspectors found raw beef on a shelf over ready-to-eat foods.
The Panthers released the following statement to Channel 9:
“We are disappointed in this report. We set high service standards and consistently rank at the top of the NFL in fan experience and hospitality. Delaware North Sportservice has been responsible for the food management and concessions at Bank of America Stadium since 2010 and we are going to conduct a full review. Our priority is to deliver a championship-level experience for our fans and make Bank of America Stadium the premier destination for entertainment in the Carolinas.”
Channel 9 received the following statement from Levy Restaurants, the group that runs concessions at the Spectrum Center:
“We work diligently with the local Mecklenburg County health department and employ third-party sanitation experts that evaluate our facilities regularly to ensure a safe environment for our guests. There is a great deal of subjectivity in reporting food-safety inspections across jurisdictions, which makes it incredibly difficult to normalize scores across many counties and states. During the two-year period included in this report (2016 and 2017), Spectrum Center received a grade of A on every inspection of every individual concession stand, portable cart and prep kitchen. Any concern that was identified was corrected immediately, and in no instance was a re-inspection deemed necessary.”
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