Crew, Nationwide Partner For Multifaceted Kit Sponsorship

Nationwide Children’s Hospital will sponsor the Crew this season and then transition to a community partnerCREW

Nationwide has "agreed to become the Crew’s new jersey sponsor" in '21 after a "special one-year partnership with Nationwide Children’s Hospital to be the sponsor this season," according to Jacob Myers of the COLUMBUS DISPATCH. Beginning in '21, when the Crew will open their new downtown stadium, Nationwide will "become the primary jersey sponsor, with Nationwide Children’s Hospital transitioning into a 'community partner role.'" A source said the deal's annual value is more than $3M and “close to double” the $1.8M that former kit sponsor Acura reportedly paid annually for its sponsorship, which ended after the '19 season. The source added that the length of the deal is "more than six years," which is twice the length of the Acura deal. Legends Global Partnerships helped negotiate the deal. Meanwhile, last October, Haslam Sports Group completed a $25.7M transaction with Nationwide Realty Investors to "acquire the land needed in the Arena District for the new stadium." But Crew Chief Business Officer Steve Lyons said the Nationwide sponsorship is a “completely separate dialogue that is not connected at all” to the club’s negotiations with NRI for the stadium land. Lyons added that talks with Nationwide "began about four months ago, but negotiations picked up quickly over the past couple of weeks in order to have a sponsor ready for the season opener" on Sunday (COLUMBUS DISPATCH, 2/28).

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL: Nationwide VP/Sponsorships, Meetings & Events Jim McCoy said that Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s financial role in this season's kit deal is "similar to the setup of other partnerships" such as the Columbus Marathon and PGA Tour's Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, both of which benefit the hospital. In Columbus, Hayleigh Colombo noted in the case of the marathon, Nationwide "pays to sponsor the event but gifts the naming rights to the hospital." McCoy said part of the company's goal is to “bring as much value to (the hospital) as we can as a good partner." Lyons said the opportunity to work with Nationwide and the hospital is a “pretty unique opportunity for both our community, our fans and the Crew to be able to bring together two partners that do so much to positively impact Columbus" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 2/27).

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