How do you get a sponsor for beer league hockey?

ngunn33

Registered User
Mar 19, 2011
18
0
How does it work ussually trying to get a sponsor for beer league hockey? What do you ussually do offer to put their logo on your jersey and then they give you money how does that work?
 

budster

Schoolyard Puck
How does it work ussually trying to get a sponsor for beer league hockey? What do you ussually do offer to put their logo on your jersey and then they give you money how does that work?

Yeah, either a patch on the shoulder or the name across the butt. It helps if one of your players has an "in" with a local business. Not absolutely necessary though, they just have to see how it will benefit them. Most businesses drop hundreds and even thousands a month on advertising so don't be afraid to ask. More about finding a sponsor.
 

warox

Registered User
Jan 4, 2011
57
0
Detroit
It was easy for me. I went to the corner office and said "hey boss, wanna play on my hockey team? Oh yeah, we need a sponsor, too."

Now he's my defensive partner and I just have to carry his dead weight on the ice :)
 

Oilslick941611

slapshot into the empty net...utterly irrelevant
Jul 4, 2006
13,722
12,541
Ottawa
Restaurant/Bars are best. They are also more likely to say yes if the team goes there for beer/wings after the game.
 

Ozolinsh_27

Registered User
Apr 1, 2005
558
0
Yeah, either a patch on the shoulder or the name across the butt. It helps if one of your players has an "in" with a local business. Not absolutely necessary though, they just have to see how it will benefit them. Most businesses drop hundreds and even thousands a month on advertising so don't be afraid to ask. More about finding a sponsor.

Agreed! My dad got us a tournament sponsor some time ago who bought us home/away jerseys, he had known the business owner for a long time. He was able to write it off on his taxes as a donation or something. :)
 

noobman

Registered User
Nov 28, 2007
4,640
4
Restaurant/Bars are best. They are also more likely to say yes if the team goes there for beer/wings after the game.

This is the best bet. Restaurants are easy because they're still making money off of you coming in every week, and they get good exposure. Many other businesses won't buy the "supporting the community" idea unless it's a kids team, because they have no direct stream of incoming revenue from the deal.

We used to go to Kelseys after ball hockey every week a few years ago, and eventually got to know the waitresses and even the owner. After the winter season we just asked for sponsorship with an estimate of costs and what not, and got sponsored for our summer season, and then our winter season after that. We also got a good deal on food/drinks, because virtually *everyone* would show up.

The only thing they really ask of you is to show up after every game to chow down on their food and that your players wear jerseys with their name/logo on it somewhere. They might want a team photo as well.
 

Canadiens1958

Registered User
Nov 30, 2007
20,020
2,773
Lake Memphremagog, QC.
Restaurants

Restaurants are excellent sponsors but you have to be careful about house rules at your local arena. Some of the private multi ice surface facilities with large in house restaurants have exclusives. No outside restaurant food, etc.

Wearing jerseys sponsored by competitors may not go over well.

Ask around to see if that may be a problem where you play.
 

Clarkington III

Rebuild? Refresh?
Aug 3, 2007
1,967
11
San Diego
I've only played on one beer league team. After having one name for the first season (only three returning players from the season before), we had a talk about spornsorship. Our last game of our first season, we had an outing a a local bar (with solid food choices as well) and noticed they sponsored random sports teams. A couple conversations later and we had uniforms paid for an a promise to re-evaluate their investment a season later.

We would go to the bar with the few fans we had for beers or food after games for postgame talk and easily surpassed the initial investment they made in us. We now have the bar asking how much our league fees are and where to write a check to as well as having shirts made. Chances are, we may be playing for close to free this season and future seasons in exchange for their patch on our bright green (their color) jersey, having our team named after them, and to bring fans and ourselves to the bar after games.

Other options entail looking for local breweries or whatever to add a patch or name to the bottom of the back of the jersey.

Plan of action would be to look for bars in the area that sponsor sports teams that your team wouldnt mind spending time in after games.

Find the player on your team that is the most charismatic and best with his or her words. There will be some negotiating and smooth talking. For the bar, it is all business. Provide a business case to provide any funds to you. It doesn't have to be a formal presentation but having numbers and ideas and thought will go a long way. Like I said early, a bar already sponsoring a team is easier to persuade, but in the end for the sponsor, it's all cost-benefit analysis.

In the end, sponsorships do not matter unless you have a team you enjoy and want to grow with. I'm lucky enough to have stumbled upon a solid team early in my beer league career (24 yo; first season) with leadership (40 yo beer league vet from Philly did the talking and provided a foundation for how tenured teams run) to see where to go for it.
 

Ad

Upcoming events

Ad

Ad

-->