Chicago-based cannabis company Verilife has signed a one-year sponsorship with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL), Ad Week reports. The Wolves, affiliates of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL) are the 2022 Calder Cup champions and have won the championship three times since 2022.
According to Ad Week, more than 900,000 fans watch the team’s games per season.
In May 2021, the company announced a partnership with Chicago Cubs legend and Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg.
Erika Salgado Guerra, chief marketing officer at PharmaCann, the parent company of Verilife, told Ad Week that the deal with Sandberg “opened the door” for the company’s sponsorship with sports teams and players.
“…These are baby steps but, if done properly, they can be a big step for where the industry is going. Cannabis combining efforts with a smaller league is how we’ll get to the future.” — Salgado Guerra to Ad Week
Salgado Guerra told Ad Week that the Wolves approached the company after seeing the partnership with Sandberg play out and called the deal “one of the fastest approvals” of her career.
The brand will have a presence at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, including the Jumbotron, scoreboard, digital banners, dashboards, LED screens, and televisions throughout the venue. The partnership also includes a charitable component to benefit Facing Forward to End Homelessness, a Chicago nonprofit organization dedicated to ending homelessness in the city, according to a Forbes report.
Chris Friederich, senior executive of corporate partnerships with the Wolves, told Forbes that it is “going to be fantastic” to see how much money the partnership would raise for Facing Forward.
“The Chicago Wolves and Verilife are both dedicated to helping the communities in which we live and work,” he said, “and we are grateful for the opportunity to help people experiencing homelessness through this sponsorship.”
Last month, MLB announced a partnership with CBD company Charlotte’s Web to make the brand the “Official CBD of Major League Baseball.” MLB is the first major league sports association to announce a partnership with a company in the cannabis space.
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