In venues where every square foot is asked to earn its keep, one underperforming asset is hiding in plain sight. Digital menu boards touch nearly every paying fan, exist by the hundreds, and sit at the seam between operations and merchandising. When they work, they shave seconds off lines, nudge orders toward higher-margin items, and open fresh inventory for sponsors. Too often, however, they behave like expensive posters: static, slow to change, and governed far from the point of sale. The opportunity to drive value from menu boards is real, but so is the friction.
To understand why menu boards are not reaching their potential, start where the money is actually made, inside a building-wide economy of screens with different owners, cadences, and mandates. Videoboards carry the show and the premium logos. Ribbon boards extend the canvas. IPTV keeps video and sponsor activations flowing to clubs and concourses. Wayfinding keeps crowds moving. Menu boards live inside that network, not apart from it. Their performance rises and falls with governance, workflow, integrations, and sponsorship strategy across the house.
As we set out to unlock the latent value of menu boards, this report follows both the money and the mechanics. First, we place menus inside the broader screen ecosystem because context explains both the upside and the constraints. Next, we address why menus underperform today. The common causes are systems built for broadcast rather than food and beverage, control that sits with an event-day operator instead of the concessionaire, and a lack of merchandising strategy that turns dynamic screens into digital price lists. We then break the system into its component parts. The parts are hardware, software, labor, and business purpose. We add concise comparisons of key OEMs and CMS platforms and show how IPTV and a purpose-built menu CMS can coexist. We conclude with a practical approach and a look ahead to deeper analyses.
The stadium screen economy and where menus sit
Each screen class has a distinct operator, CMS role, and business case. Menu boards are the most numerous screens nearest to the point of purchase.
| Screen category | Typical quantity | CMS role | Primary operator / business user | Primary purpose | Business case |
| Large-format video boards (scoreboards, center-hung) | 1–4 | High-end content orchestration with video, replays, sponsor loops | Game presentation and production | Fan engagement and show production | Revenue growth through sponsorship visibility and naming rights |
| Ribbon boards (bowl fascia, mezzanine wraps) | 2–6 with multiple zones | Ad rotations, stats, ambient visuals | Game presentation or sponsorship activation | Sponsor branding and fan information | Revenue growth through added inventory |
| Outdoor marquees and entry displays | 2–5 | Welcome messages, event branding, sponsor promotions | Marketing and operations | Event branding and ticketing messages | Revenue and operational impact, including wayfinding and pre-event promotion |
| IPTV displays in suites, concourses, clubs | 500–2,000 | Zoned control of live feed, sponsor loops, stat overlays | Event-day operator or IPTV team | Engagement outside the bowl and ambient media | Revenue and experience through sponsorship delivery and premium value |
| Wayfinding and staff operations displays | 20–100 | Navigation, checklists, staff coordination | Operations, security, venue services | Staff coordination and guest flow | Operational efficiency through reduced friction and improved safety |
| Digital menu boards | 100–300 | Real-time menus, price changes, countdowns, and upsells | Concessionaire (Levy, Aramark, Legends, and others) | Concession sales and F&B marketing | Revenue growth and operational efficiency through upsell and reduced errors |
A simple question follows. If menu boards sit this close to the transaction, why do so many perform like static signage rather than revenue screens?
Why menu boards underperform
System design. In many buildings, menu boards were appended to IPTV. The platform that runs game presentation and sponsor loops is strong for broadcast use, yet cumbersome for food and beverage. Concessionaires require fast edits at stand level. If a high-volume item sells out or a new bundle deserves promotion, waiting for an event-day operator is already a missed moment.
Ownership. Control often resides with the team or venue while accountability for sales sits with the concessionaire. IT becomes a content desk. The F&B group loses agility. The event-day operator already manages scripted takeovers and cannot also function as the on-call menu editor.
Strategy. Listing items and prices is not merchandising. Without a visual hierarchy, motion used on margin items, time-boxed offers, and practical cues such as alcohol cutoff timers, digital menus become static price lists with limited upsell and little sponsor value.
The remedy is to treat menus as a system and to put day-to-day control in the hands of the people responsible for results.
The system in four parts
Four elements drive performance. They are hardware, software, labor, and business purpose. Select the right tool for each, integrate them cleanly, and allow the business owner to execute.
Hardware
Commercial LCD and LED displays must withstand heat, grease, glare, and long duty cycles. The OEM decision is both technical and commercial. Display brands often participate in sponsorship negotiations.
| OEM provider | Strengths for menu boards | Sponsorship potential |
| Samsung | Broad commercial lineup with mature integrations | High, since venue-wide technology partnerships are common |
| LG | High brightness and strong service footprint | Moderate to high with integration-led branding |
| Daktronics | Stadium-grade LED including outdoor and spectaculars | High, often tied to videoboards and ribbons |
| Planar | Specialty LED walls and modular installations | Moderate, common in premium concourses and feature walls |
Operational priorities include brightness and thermal performance at the stand, duty-cycle warranties, mounting and cleanability, and whether OEM value can offset capital costs through sponsorship.
Software
An IPTV platform can display menus. A purpose-built food and beverage CMS helps menus sell. The difference is speed, data binding, and operator access.
| CMS provider | Approach | Strengths | Limitations |
| VITEC EZ TV | IPTV with signage | Unified control of video, signage, and menus with robust integrations | Often over-scaled for F&B workflows, which creates dependency on the EDO |
| FanConnect | Stadium IPTV with signage | One platform for IPTV, sponsorship, and concession signage | F&B specialization varies by venue |
| AmpBoards (AmpThink) | Purpose-built F&B CMS | Simple interface, concessionaire-led control, POS integration | Scope focuses on F&B by design |
| Uniguest (Tripleplay) | IPTV and signage suite | Mature IPTV and signage ecosystem, strong in premium areas | Not F&B-first |
Success factors include native POS and inventory integration, batch edits at scale, the ability to update from a handheld at the stand, animation that highlights margin items, role-based permissions, and calm coexistence with IPTV through zoning or time slicing on shared displays.
Labor
Governance determines speed and quality. A centralized model keeps control but slows changes and often lacks F&B nuance. A concessionaire-run model moves faster and is more contextual but requires access, training, service levels, and clear guardrails. A hybrid model is usually best. IT manages security and integrations. F&B runs day-to-day menus. The event-day operator retains emergency override.
Write the operating model down. Specify who can change which screens, which changes require review, and the windows when updates are allowed. Maintain audit trails for transparency. Provide training so staff can make edits quickly and correctly. These simple habits preserve speed without creating disorder.
Business purpose
Menu boards create value in two ways. They improve operational efficiency and they drive revenue.
Efficiency gains come from shorter queues and fewer manual edits. Real-time agility supports sold-out logic, daypart menus, and alcohol cutoff timers without human intervention.
Revenue gains come from average check growth through placement and motion on high-margin items. More transactions follow from improved throughput. Sponsor activations can be packaged with F&B brands and with OEM partners, including end-of-event offers. Treat static operation as an ongoing opportunity cost that compounds across a season.
Coexistence rather than replacement
Most venues already run robust IPTV. The pragmatic approach uses both systems. IPTV handles live video and building-wide choreography. A purpose-built menu CMS manages counter-speed work that is driven by POS. On shared displays, apply zoning or time slices with clear rules so the systems do not conflict. Use event triggers such as goals, innings, and period breaks to synchronize offers and sponsor moments without manual effort. After events, repurpose menu displays for wayfinding or sponsor ride-share offers, and then flip to staff close-down checklists. Small touches of this sort create outsized benefit.
What better looks like
- Put control with the concessionaire inside a CMS that publishes changes in minutes, including from a handheld at the stand.
- Bind items, prices, and availability to POS so updates are edits, not redesigns.
- Use creative that sells. Build a clear hierarchy. Apply motion to highlight margin. Use countdowns and time-boxed offers to reduce decision time during peaks.
- Package OEM displays and F&B brands into coordinated moments with IPTV, and report the results in a format sponsors accept.
- Establish governance in writing. Define roles and responsibilities, set service levels and change windows, provide training, and keep audit trails so speed is sustained and measurable.
Closing thoughts
Menu boards are not ancillary. They are the most numerous screens closest to the transaction. They underperform when they inherit broadcast tools, sit far from the operators who sell, or run without a merchandising plan. Treat them on their own terms with appropriate screens, an F&B-fit CMS, and an operator who owns the outcome. Connect that system to the building you already run. When you do, the benefits appear where they matter most. Lines move faster. Checks get larger. Sponsors gain better inventory. The brand story is more coherent in venue. The technology is in place. Alignment is the remaining task.
