The Fire and Chicago-based PrivateBank “have a new multi-year sponsorship deal that makes the lender the official bank of the team and puts its name on" the team's new year-round indoor soccer facility, according to Danny Ecker of CRAIN’S CHICAGO BUSINESS. The 140,000-square-foot venue “will be dubbed the ‘PrivateBank Fire Pitch’ and feature PrivateBank signage on the exterior of the bubble dome, which covers two artificial turf fields during the winter, on the fields themselves and throughout the facility.” The agreement also “gives PrivateBank the presenting sponsorship of one Fire home game, in-stadium signage at Toyota Park in Bridgeview and involvement with suburban recreational tournaments, among other assets.” Financial terms of the deal "were not disclosed." Fire COO Atul Khosla said that PrivateBank replaces Rosemont, Ill.-based Wintrust Financial Corp. as a Fire sponsor and “becomes the team's first exclusive banking partner.” The agreement “marks the first exclusive sports sponsorship for PrivateBank, though the middle-market lender has partnerships with other major teams in Chicago,” including the Blackhawks and White Sox. The deal is the “second new major corporate partner for the Fire in as many months” after recently inking a five-year deal with Heineken (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 12/2).
