Service America, the food and beverage concessionaire at B.C. Place Stadium, Vancouver, B.C., is making sure that fans of the Three Tenors will be able to dine in style when the opera superstars perform this New Year's Eve.

"The way we looked at it, because this is an event that was internationally courted, we wanted to ensure that guests were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime experience," said Chris Alaimo, Service America's manager at B.C. Place. "And since it's New Year's Eve, it sets a little different parameters because it's a special night unto itself."

The aim is to improve on the 50-cent (U.S.) food and beverage per cap the Three Tenors generated for ARAMARK during their performance at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., last summer, Alaimo said.

"We went to that show to see how it worked and to more or less observe fan tendencies," he said. "We're dealing with a theater-type crowd coming to a sporting arena so we want to make sure we're attuned to their needs. In New Jersey they did some things, but didn't gear [the food and beverage service] to the type of event that it was."

Alaimo said he is aiming for a $4.50 ($3.29 U.S.) per cap from the concession end and $1.75 ($1.28 U.S.) from the catering end.

On the catering side, Alaimo said Service America will be involved in an inclusive $650 ($474.5 U.S.) package in which tickets in the stadium's media suites will be combined with a traditional New Year's Eve buffet of prime rib, seafood Newburg, stuffed chicken breasts and a full line of desserts and complimentary champagne.

"Then we are going to offer a buffet for the public, which we are marketing ourselves, to give patrons the option to come early, relax and have dinner before the event," he said. The buffet will be the same as the one offered in the VIP package in the media suites and will cost $37.50 ($27.38 U.S.) above the cost of a ticket. Ticket prices start at $45 ($32.85 U.S.) apiece and top out at $2,000 ($1,460 U.S.) each for the best seats in the house. The high-end seats include a post-event reception at the Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre with Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras.

Alaimo said the event starts at 9 p.m. and the intermission has been extended from it's usual 20 minutes to 45 so that the Tenors will be on stage when the clock strikes midnight. The show should conclude at about 12:20 a.m., he said.

Alaimo said the existing suite menus have been revamped for the event.

"The key is that it's New Year's Eve and a 9 p.m. start time," he said. "We went heavier on the hors d'oeuvres and appetizer-type items more than entrees. We'll have everything from smoked salmon and lobster platters to rack of lamb carved in the suites.

"The other thing we keyed on was desserts because that late in the evening people tend to want the sweet items, but not necessarily the dinner or appetizer-type items."

Alaimo said all ticket holders in the suites will receive a commemorative champagne glass specially etched for the event.

"It will have the event logo, 'The Three Tenors; New Years Eve 1996; B.C. Place Stadium,'" he said.

Alaimo said all of the lower- and higher-end seats have sold out.

"Middle of the house is where they are concentrating now," he said. "They are at about 40% sold."

On the concession services side, the staff will "step back from normal concession stand stuff and gear it toward the event," he said

"All service personnel will be wearing tuxedo shirts and bow ties. We've also categorized the stands and portables we'll set up for floor service and given them four types of menus [ranging from standard concession items to more upscale appetizer plates to specialty coffees and fresh-baked goods to varietal wines and champagne[."

"We'll have 24 locations serving the stadium floor, which seats 9,000, and we'll have 46 locations serving the 200 and 400 levels," Alaimo said. "The majority of those locations are permanent. We're only going to have 12 portables and those are geared toward coffee services and specialty wines and champagne."

Pricing for items normally served at the stadium will remain the same.

For specialty items some sample prices include: $4.75-$5.50 ($3.47-$4.02 U.S.) for a 6-ounce glass of wine, varietal wine or champagne; $5 ($3.65) for a cottage brewed beer (U.S. equivalent of a micro-brewery beer); and $4-$5 ($2.92-$3.65 U.S.) for appetizer plates or specialty desserts.

"Because of our ethnic mix here in Vancouver and it being a real melting pot of the Pacific Rim, we'll also be offering a fresh sushi stand and Oriental dim sum," Alaimo said.

Roving vendors will sell items such as wine and champagne, ice cream bars, specialty plates, bottled water and Snapple-type beverages, but only prior to the performance and during intermission, he said. "We're also doing extensive decorating of all concession areas and in the building itself," Alaimo said. "We'll be using black vinyl draping and accent lighting to make the place look more like a theater than a stadium."