Ball Corp buys the naming rights to the house of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche, in a high-profile partnership with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment which it hopes , will increase the notoriety and adoption of its recyclable aluminum cups
As part of the deal, the current Pepsi Center will become Ball Arena and begin phasing out single-use plastics for all cold drinks, including water, soda and beer. expands to other sports properties owned by billionaire Stan Kroenke, including the Los Angeles Rams and their new $ 5 billion stadium, as well as English football club Arsenal and its Emirates Stadium These two sites will start to introduce aluminum cups and add recycling infrastructure
While the terms of the deal weren’t detailed, it represents the largest marketing partnership Ball has ever achieved, according to CEO John Hayes.It is also structured to give Ball financial flexibility if the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt upcoming NBA and NHL seasons, Hayes said
“Conversely, if Kroenke can help us enable more sites to be plastic-free, they benefit too,” said Hayes “This is not a transaction where we write a check, type our name on the stadium, we hit five and go home It’s the start of a long-term journey to educate consumers about the benefits of alumni packaging «
For Ball, headquartered just outside Denver, timing is strategic In business since 1880, the company has spent the past 25 years almost entirely in business-to-business, supplying cans and jars to companies like Coca-Cola or Anheuser-Busch Now Ball is gearing up to retail its new aluminum cups, hoping that general awareness of recycling and sustainability will create a popular alternative to the ubiquitous red Solo cup. The company sees adoption at sporting events as a primary way to present the cups more widely to the public
The genesis of this deal dates back to last year, when the Pepsi Center was the first major sports venue to use Ball’s aluminum cups on a large scale. The cups can be recycled and the metal recirculated within 60 days, according to Ball, making them a more durable option than single-use glass or plastic
“Consumers are aware of sustainability these days,” said Michael Ceilley, senior vice president of partnership marketing, media and digital sales at KSE “It’s one of the things we have examined in KSE’s portfolio that really made sense: doing good by our fans, doing good by our sites and doing good for our planet »
This is the first fully franchise deal of this nature for KSE Although Kroenke has owned these properties for years, it is a unique partnership that includes the NBA and NHL teams. and their arena, as well as the NFL team and its venue, as well as the English football team and its stadium
It is also one of the few major naming rights deals signed in the seven months since the start of the pandemic. Others include Amazon which bought the rights to the arena from the NHL in Seattle and Swiss bank UBS in partnership with the new Islanders arena, a twenty-year contract worth at least $ 13$ 75 million a year Denver’s naming rights alone are probably worth $ 7 million to $ 9 million a year, according to Eric Smallwood, president of Apex Marketing Group, which advises on naming rightsPepsi’s naming rights expired at the end of September and the transition to Ball Arena will happen immediately Ceilley said the arena’s goal is to switch all beverage packaging to aluminum from here 2022 Kroenke’s other two locations will likely transition to a more gradual scale At SoFi Stadium, for example, the aluminum mug will see increased use, starting with the standard container for draft beer
Pepsi Center, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, Ball Corporation, Stan Kroenke, Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets
World news – United States – Kroenke sports teams make deal with Ball Corp for Aluminum Cups, Denver Naming Rights
