Delaware North - Company History

Company History

Delaware North began as Jacob Brothers in 1915 and was founded by three Jacobs brothers. The current operating name for the holding company was first used in 1980. Today, the company remains family-owned and operated by Jeremy Jacobs who also owns the Boston Bruins. The arena in which the Bruins play, the TD Garden, is owned by Delaware North. Jacobs is also a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Travel and Tourism Board.

• 1915 – The Jacobs Brothers found Delaware North in Buffalo, N.Y., to operate theater concessions. When the establishments close down in the hot summer months, the three men turn their attention to ballparks, the first being Offermann Stadium, and the creation of the sports concession industry.
• 1926 – Sportservice is created following contracts with minor-league ballparks in Buffalo and Syracuse, N.Y. Today, Sportservice is Delaware North's largest operating company.
• 1930 – The company enters into its first major-league deal by signing an agreement with the Detroit Tigers to handle food service at Navin Field. The team is still a Sportservice client today.
• 1939 – The Jacobs brothers expand their business by acquiring a racetrack, marking the beginning of Delaware North Companies Gaming & Entertainment.
• 1941 – The company enters the airport arena with a contract to provide food service in Washington National Airport. Delaware North Companies Travel Hospitality Services today operates in more than 30 major airports worldwide.
• 1968 – Upon the death of his father, founder Louis M. Jacobs, Jeremy M. Jacobs begins leading the company at the age of 28. The years that follow are characterized by unprecedented growth and diversification.
• 1975 – Delaware North acquires the Boston Garden while Jeremy Jacobs purchases the Boston Bruins, one of the original six franchises of the National Hockey League.
• 1987 – Delaware North acquires Sky Chefs, a strategic move that bolsters its airport business.
• 1993 – Delaware North wins the contract to provide visitor services in Yosemite National Park under the terms of the largest concessions contract in the U.S. National Park Service. The award sows the seeds of a new line of business: Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts.
• 1995 – Delaware North wins the contract to run the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
• Late 1990s – Delaware North begins on a path toward becoming the largest racino operator in North America by adding gaming to some of its racetrack properties.
• 2001 – Delaware North becomes the first U.S. hospitality company in the world to have its GreenPath environmental management system registered to the guidelines put forth by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14001).
• Early 2000s – Delaware North becomes a hotel owner in its own right by purchasing Tenaya Lodge at the entrance to Yosemite and Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa in British Columbia, and by building a hotel at its gaming and racing destination resort in Wheeling, W. Va.
• 2004 – Delaware North begins GuestPath, its companywide continuous improvement process.
• 2006/2007 – Delaware North enters the European market with a contract at Wembley Stadium, followed by one at Emirates Stadium.
• 2008 - Signed a 10 year contract at Pride Park Stadium, Derby
• 2008/2009 - Won a contract to operate a 4,500 slot machine racino at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York. It lost the contract in 2009 when it could not make a $370 million upfront payment to the state of New York.
• 2009 - Delaware North was hired by Garrison Investments to operate the RMS Queen Mary in Long Beach CA. This partnership ended in April 2011.
• 2010 - Delaware North acquired Jumer's Casino & Hotel located in Rock Island, Illinois.

Enters European travel hospitality market opening outlets at Gatwick, Heathrow and Edinburgh Airports and Euston Railway Station. Acquires iconic Australian Resorts at Lizard Island, Heron Island and Wilson Island on the Great Barrier Reef and King's Canyon in the Red Centre of Australia.