By Rebecca Fiedler
Staff Writer
Hundreds of jobs are now available to the community for McLane Stadium, which opens in August.
Baylor has formed new relationships with companies in the management of the new stadium, and a number of those companies will be hiring hundreds of new workers.
The company SMG will be the stadium’s facility manager and is hiring 500 part-time employees. Job options include ushers, guest service workers, ticket takers, greeters and parking coordinators.
“We’re hiring for everything it takes to operate the stadium on an event day,” said SMG general manager Scott Neal.
Club Corp, which was also present for applications at the job fair, will manage what will be called the Baylor Club, as well as catering and food and beverage distribution for premium seating. The company is offering 150 jobs at the stadium.
The stadium will have a private club, the Baylor Club, which will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner six days a week.
“It’s basically a place where the faculty of Baylor, the business community of Waco can all come together and conduct business and socialize with each other and things of that nature,” said Brandon Millares, general manager of the Baylor Club.
On game days the Baylor Club will run premium service operations.
“That includes the founders’ suites, all the sky boxes, the entire club section, etc.,” Millares said.
There are 50 full-time positions of the 150 positions that will be full-time jobs, include private event directors, wedding planners, an executive chef, full-time service positions, full-time kitchen employees and an accountant, Millares said.
He said this is an increase in employment from what was offered at Floyd Casey Stadium.
“There are more premium servers and premium offerings,” he said. “There are more skyboxes, and more club level seating. The club level will offer 1,200 seats.”
Millares said he wants strongly to hire at least 100 Baylor students for the Baylor Club positions at the stadium.
Aramark will handle the maintenance, heating, ventilation and landscaping of the stadium, though the company has not listed any openings for jobs at the stadium. The company Savor, which will oversee concession stands, was present at the job fair and is hiring employees for the stadium as well. The company Follett will manage the stadium’s bookstore gift shop, and the company’s website lists 86 positions soon to open, many of which will be at the stadium.
Wacoans young and old lined up at booths in the Waco Convention Center Tuesday in hopes to be given a job at the new McLane stadium. For hours the lines of people wanting to turn in applications at the stadium’s job fair were constant.
Nancy Duarte, a retired individual and Waco resident, stood in line with her application for a job with SMG. Duarte said she would enjoy working in a sky box.
“I saw the job fair advertised in the newspaper and posted it on my refrigerator,” she said.
Neal said the response by Waco citizens to the amount of job openings is typical for when a new stadium begins hiring.
“We’ve had a steady stream of people since we opened up,” Neal said after the job fair began. “We haven’t had a down moment yet. It’s a solid line of individuals.”
SMG and Club Corp will begin job training in August for the coming of the football season.
