Charlotte FC and Bojangles team up for multi-year partnership deal
Charlotte FC is teaming up with a hometown staple before play kicks off next year, but the Major League Soccer expansion club swapped soccer balls for biscuits for its latest announcement.
Charlotte FC on Wednesday announced that the club has entered a multi-year partnership agreement with Southern food chain Bojangles. The Charlotte-founded restaurant operator will become the official tailgate partner and tailgate headquarters of Charlotte FC ahead of the team’s inaugural season in 2022.
Bojangles joins Ally Financial as one of the team’s earliest sponsors, with Ally set to hold prime real estate on the team’s jerseys as part of a $7 million annual sponsorship deal, Charlotte Business Journal reported last year.
Specific terms of the Bojangles deal were not disclosed, although Bojangles chief marketing officer Jackie Woodward indicated that the franchises will partner for “a long time.” Part of Wednesday’s announcement also included the detail that Bojangles has renewed its sponsorship of the Carolina Panthers, the NFL team sharing an ownership group (Tepper Sports & Entertainment) with Charlotte FC.
As part of the partnership activation, Charlotte FC and Panthers signage will appear on all Bojangles restaurants in the Carolinas, naming the restaurant the “official tailgate headquarters” of the teams. There will also be opportunities with Charlotte FC players to engage with the brand, as well as team-themed menu items and/or packaging, similar to the Panthers’ “Big Bo Boxes.”
Fans can also expect to see Bojangles featured on TV visible signage at Bank of America Stadium, the team’s home venue, as well as signage on the main scoreboard. Bojangles will continue its presence at seven concession stands in the stadium, and will be featured in a “Bojangles-specific area” at the venue in Uptown Charlotte.
“I like to think we’re bringing fans to the games with the Bojangles section and we’re bringing the game to the fans by the things we do in our restaurants,” Woodward said.
Bojangles will also conduct an in-stadium promotion that delivers its signature chicken and biscuits to one fan at each Charlotte FC match and will be the entitlement sponsor for one match each season of the deal, which includes fan giveaways, according to the team.
Additionally, Bojangles will have hand in Charlotte FC’s community engagement efforts by collaborating on construction of a mini soccer pitch at a to-be-determined location in the Carolinas and supporting the club’s partnerships with after school programs that focus on soccer and literacy, a space which Ally has been active as well.
“We’ve been a part of the Charlotte community and all things related to Charlotte and the Carolinas since we started here 44 years ago,” Bojangles CEO Jose Armario said. “It only comes natural that with the best fans that love to tailgate and enjoy our great chicken biscuits and tea, that we join hands with the newest team in the Carolinas, the Charlotte Football Club.”
Charlotte FC president Nick Kelly said that the partnership was important given Bojangles’ ability to connect with sports fans. Kelly, as well as Armario, Woodward and Tepper Sports president Tom Glick were present for the partnership announcement event at the West Trade St. Bojangles location, where the restaurant is giving away Charlotte FC-Bojangles branded scarves with a purchase of a Family Meal while supplies last, an early indicator of the partnership activations to come.
“It really reinforces the fact that we really need to partner with people like Bojangles to make sure the tailgate is special, make sure the fans have a way to connect with the brand,” Kelly said.
Ally so far is the only announced sponsor that will be featured on the team’s to-be-revealed uniforms, but Kelly said that future partnership announcements are forthcoming before the team starts play. He said that Charlotte FC is “confident” its premium inventory, meaning space on the uniforms (or kits, in soccer terms), will be sold by the end of the year.
