- The new name of the facility will be ‘Ball Arena’ in a branding deal with Denver based Ball Corporation.
- The arena had been known as the ‘Pepsi Center’ since it opened 21 years ago.
- Ball is best known for its production of home canning products such as glass jars and lids.
Denver is one of my favorite cities in the world. Unfortunately, many local restaurants and other businesses offer Pepsi products and not Coke products. That may change due to a rebranding of the Mile High City’s largest sports and event facility. The building that has been known as the ‘Pepsi Center’ since it opened in 1999 will now be known as ‘Ball Arena’.
The new name is a result of a partnership between Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) and Ball Corporation extending from Denver to Los Angeles and London. KSE owns many things, in particular valuable sports teams and venues. The own a number of Denver’s major sports teams–the NHL Colorado Avalanche, the MLS Colorado Rapids, the NBA Denver Nuggets and the National Lacrosse League (NLL) Colorado Mammoth. The also own the Los Angeles Rams of the NFL and English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal. They even own a couple of esports teams based in LA–the Los Angeles Gladiators (Overwatch) and Los Angeles Guerrillas (Call of Duty). In addition the own the primary venues that these teams play in including the swanky new stadium shared by the NFL Rams and Los Angeles Chargers (SoFi Stadium) and Arsenal’s home field Emirates Stadium.
Ball Corporation is best known for their jars, lids and other containers favored by home canning enthusiasts. Here’s the blurb about their company from the press release announcing the deal:
Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 18,300 people worldwide and 2019 net sales were $11.5 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
And if you’re thinking there’s an environmental angle to all of this you can go to the head of the class:
The partnership was founded on a shared vision to advance sustainability in sports and entertainment by strengthening in-venue aluminum recycling, providing fans with a more environmentally friendly fan experience and showcasing aluminum beverage packaging as the most sustainable choice.
Here’s how the press release describes the partnership which not only includes the naming rights for the Denver arena but extends to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium and the LA Rams’ SoFi Stadium:
The partnership includes naming rights for Ball and KSE’s hometown arena in Denver, Colorado, home to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, NHL’s Colorado Avalanche and NLL’s Colorado Mammoth, and also home to family entertainment and concerts. The partnership is a demonstration of both companies’ steadfast commitment to a sustainable future and builds on their long history of working together to support the Denver community.
Ball and KSE will also partner with the Premier League’s Arsenal F.C., which plays in London’s Emirates Stadium, and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and their home stadium, SoFi Stadium. In each location, in addition to in-venue aluminum beverage packaging solutions, Ball and KSE will enhance local community programs and increase awareness of the importance of aluminum recycling.
Like any good press release, this one has quotes from the relevant corporate bigwigs starting with Ball Corporation Chairman, President and CEO John A. Hayes:
“This is an important moment in sports and entertainment, and we are proud to partner with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment to advance sustainability in venues by implementing real-world solutions to the packaging waste crisis. We are committed to making recycling an easy, everyday choice for consumers by providing them with infinitely recyclable aluminum cans, bottles and cups that can be used and back on a store shelf in just 60 days, and enhancing recycling infrastructure in venues. We look forward to continuing to work with KSE to bring about positive change for years to come.”
KSE Founder and Chairman E. Stanley Kroenke is up next:
“It is with great pride that we introduce Ball Arena as the new home of the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Mammoth. Our goal in selecting a long-term international venues partner was to find a Colorado-based company with global renown to grow side-by-side with our talented young teams. Ball Corporation is an ideal fit for that vision, an innovative leader that shares our commitment to our local community, to environmental sustainability and creating quality jobs in Colorado. We look forward to unveiling Ball Arena and welcoming our fans back home when it is time once again to celebrate live sports and entertainment events responsibly. We ask everyone to continue to stay safe and look after each other so that we can soon enjoy countless amazing memories at Ball Arena.”
Finally, the guy who probably did most of the ‘heavy lifting’ bringing this deal together offers his quote–Michael Ceilley, KSE Senior Vice President, Partnership Marketing & Media Sales:
“This announcement is an extension of a relationship that began between Ball Corporation and KSE a year ago with the introduction of their infinitely recyclable Ball Aluminum CupTM. That opened the door to this incredible opportunity, that builds on the importance of aluminum packaging and recycling. Working together, we believe this partnership will be transformative and help redefine the way arenas and stadiums operate globally. We are also grateful for PepsiCo’s dedication to elevating the fan experience at our arena for over 21 years, and through ongoing official beverage partnerships with the Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Mammoth and Ball Arena.”
It’s really a pretty innovative deal with obvious upsides for everyone concerned. If you want more details about the nuts and bolts of the partnership you can read the press release in full here:
DENVER NUGGETS WILL NOW PLAY IN BALL ARENA AS PART OF KSE, BALL CORPORATION GLOBAL PARTNERSHIP
We last heard from KSE when they signed a deal with PointsBet naming the Australian based sportsbook as ‘official and exclusive’ gaming partner of the Pepsi Center Ball Arena along with the teams that play there–the NHL Colorado Avalanche, the NBA Denver Nuggets and the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL).
