The San Jose Earthquakes have signed 7Up Bottling, a subsidiary of the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, as the first founding partner for the team’s new stadium. The six-year deal is for mid-six figures annually, according to an industry source.
The sponsorship is scheduled to be announced Tuesday. The stadium is expected to open in 2014; its official groundbreaking is set for Oct. 21.
 |
The beverage company will be a founding partner at the soccer club’s new stadium.
|
“We were determined to get at least one founding partner done before we even broke ground,” said Earthquakes President Dave Kaval. “7Up is a great partner for us, and they know that we deliver on our activations.”
The Earthquakes’ relationship with the company began in March 2011, when 7Up Bottling received exclusive pouring rights for its brands, including Snapple, A&W, Sunkist, RC Cola and Deja Blue Water, at the team’s current venue, Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
As a founding partner at the new stadium in San Jose, 7Up will receive exclusive rights in the carbonated soft drink, iced tea and water categories. It also will be the presenting sponsor of the new venue’s Earthquakes’ Fan Zone. In addition, the team and sponsor are creating a recycling program for game days and will continue their A&W Root Beer Float Nights, through which more than $15,000 has been raised for local charities over the past two seasons. Before games, local celebrities make root beer floats for fans in return for voluntary donations.
“It’s an exciting time in the Earthquakes’ history,” said James Fox, general manager of 7Up Bottling. “We wanted to be part of the fantastic fan experience the new stadium will bring.”
Kaval said the Earthquakes plan to have a total of eight founding partners of the stadium, adding that the club is in “active negotiations with major corporations” for naming rights of the facility.
