West Virginia University has selected Sedexho Marriott as the apparent successful proposer for concessions services at athletic events.

Officials from WVU and Sedexho Marriott will now enter into negotiations to finalize a five-year contract by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year, said Tim Bostonia, assistant director for business development.

American Vending Co. of Clarksburg, which currently has the concessions contract, was the only other vendor to submit a proposal.

A selection committee evaluated both firmsproposals for quality of service factors; commission and revenue guarantees; and financial resources and references. The committee gave Sedexho Marriott higher total ratings in all three categories.

Items that weighed heavily in the committees decision:

  • Marriotts guaranteed commission revenue totals $3.15 million, compared to American Vendings guaranteed revenue of $1.49 million, despite a 5 percent in-state vendor preference
  • Marriott has proposed spending about $524,000 on facility improvements and will create additional selling locations to improve service over the contract period
  • Marriotts scale of operations and experience includes services at numerous colleges and universities across the country, among them Ohio State University, Colorado State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State University and University of North Carolina. The company also has catering contracts with WVU Hospitals and the WVU Alumni Association.