NBA partners with Tilman Fertitta’s restaurants for bubble delivery

The NBA’s six food delivery partners for personnel inside the Disney “bubble” complex are all owned by Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta.

It hasn’t been the best 2020 for Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who owns the Rockets along with a hospitality empire headlined by the Landry’s Inc. restaurant group and the Golden Nugget casino chain.

For starters, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of the NBA season in March. Even after it finally resumes later this month at the league’s “bubble” complex near Orlando, the lack of fans means that owners will have to go the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason without any of their expected revenues from ticket sales.

The effects of the pandemic have also dramatically reduced the number of willing customers for the hospitality sector, which means that Fertitta could be impacted even more from a financial standpoint than many rival NBA owners, depending on the nature of their other businesses.

On Thursday, Fertitta got some positive financial news, for a change. According to Jeff Zillgitt of USA TODAY Sports, the NBA is partnering with six restaurants — Morton’s, Palm, Saltgrass, Del Frisco’s, The Oceanaire, and Joe’s Crab Shack — to provide delivery service to players and other NBA personnel at the Disney bubble site in Florida.

The common thread of those six restaurants is that they’re all owned by Fertitta and operate under the Landry’s Inc. umbrella.

Even considering the large appetites of professional athletes, the revenues won’t come close to making up for the overall shortfall at Landry’s, as compared to a “normal” year. But in a year filled with disappointing news, it’s a welcome respite for Fertitta’s empire.

In all, 22 NBA teams are reporting to the Florida bubble this week, with regular-season games starting on July 30 and the playoffs around August 17. That means that all 22 teams will be at the hotel complex for over a month, and 16 of the 22 (those that make the playoffs) will be around for at least six weeks. For those that advance deep in the playoffs, their overall stays could be in the range of two-to-three months.

For the food delivery partners, that means significant opportunities to provide meals in the weeks ahead. In total, there could be up to 1,600 NBA personnel at the complex at a given time, per media reports.

As for the Rockets: Considering that Houston’s payroll for next season is almost a lock to be in luxury tax territory, the positive financial news for Fertitta certainly can’t hurt their outlook.

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