LAST WEEK'S SPONSORSHIP NEWS

These stories cover sponsorship news for January 27 to February 2, 2020. This is part of our "Last Week Today" series that includes a weekly roundup of the past week's most exciting and industry-altering news. Check back on our blog every Monday for updates!

ARMS RACE BETWEEN NIKE & ADIDAS

An arms race has developed between Nike and adidas to acquire elite European club assets with Nike securing a deal with Liverpool FC last week. There's potentially more opportunity with higher royalty fees in this new deal with Nike. You can read more details about this potential upside for Liverpool at SportBusiness.com.

NEW SHIRT SPONSOR

English soccer giants Chelsea secured a three-year principal partnership with British telecommunications company Three, which is said to be comparable to the expiring $52.5 million annual deal with Yokohama slated to end with the 2019/2020 season. The brand will become the primary shirt sponsor for the Premier League club.

Read more at SportsProMedia.com

CRYPTOCURRENCY

French football champion Paris Saint-Germain welcomes Poland-based CoinCasso as an official partner in all territories outside of France including Europe, Asia, and the US. This supplements an existing deal in the cryptocurrency space with Socios.com who is focused on the French market.

“The cryptocurrency exchange market is both young and innovative,” said Luke Ozimski, chief executive of CoinCasso. “We are delighted to be one of the first specialists to reach out to the general public and team up with one of the most popular football clubs in the world."

Read more on SportBusiness.com

NEW NAMING RIGHTS PARTNER

Tampa Bay Lightning announced last week that the Ice Sports Forum is now the TGH Ice Plex® following a multiyear partnership extension with Tampa General Hospital.

A long-standing partnership between the two for nearly two decades was definitely a factor in expanding the deal which includes entitlement of the team's training facility as well as in-ice logo placement at AMALIE Arena, signature engagement, and activation platforms.

Read more at NHL.com

ANOTHER NEW NAME

The Dayton Dragons also announced a new naming rights agreement with Day Air Credit Union that will change the name from Fifth Third Field to Day Air Ballpark.

Financial terms of the agreement were not revealed, but it is a 10-year agreement, which Phil Parker, president and chief executive of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, called a smart business move for both the team and the credit union.

More details available at DaytonDailyNews.com

BRITISH PARALYMPIC SPONSOR

Nestlé Cereals UK to sponsor ParalympicsGB which will see the company provide its packing to athletics, table tennis, powerlifting, and cycling.

The team's sponsorship portfolio includes British Airways, adidas, Allianz, Hogan Lovells, Mondelez International, Sainsbury's, Toyota, Virgin Media, Asos, BP Oil, and Citigroup.

Read more on SportBusiness.com

TOYOTA SPONSORS MLF

Toyota announced a formal sponsorship of Major League Fishing (MLF), professional bass fishing's newest premier tournament organization. The partnership also includes Fishing League Worldwide (FLW), the world's largest tournament-fishing organization.

John Acosta, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development for Major League Fishing. “Through this comprehensive, multi-year deal, Toyota continues its rich history of supporting the outdoors, now leveraging MLF’s highly rated media platforms and angler-centric tournament trails to further position Toyota as a catalyst for growth in the sport of competitive bass fishing.”

Read more at FLW Fishing

NEW OFFICIAL AIRLINE

Allegiant, who has been an airline sponsor of the Colts since 2015, entered into a new partnership with the Indianapolis Colts and will become the "Official Airline of the Indianapolis Colts."

Read more at PRNewsWire.com

Look out next Monday for the usual round-up on sponsorship news.