Budweiser, Reebok Canada and Samsung Electronics Canada have scored sponsorship deals with the Bills Toronto Series, which kicks off Thursday with a pre-season game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Budweiser will serve as title sponsor of the Bills Toronto Series tailgate parties, organizing pre-game festivities for each of the eight games—three pre-season and five regular season—that the Bills will play at Toronto’s Rogers Centre over the next five seasons.
Adrian Montgomery, general manager of the Bills Toronto Series, said the parties, to be held at a parking lot near the stadium, will add some new twists to U.S. tailgating traditions.
“Because there are no public drinking laws, tailgating in the U.S. is a very individual experience. You clear out your beer and your food from the fridge, put it in your car, pop the trunk and go at it,” said Montgomery. “We can’t do that here, and we look at that as an advantage. We want to take tailgating from an individual experience to a communal one.”
To foster that sense of community, the Budweiser tailgate events will feature food, music, contests, merchandise booths and other activities for football fans. Budweiser will sell beer at the licensed events, which are open to all consumers of legal drinking age. There is no entrance fee and attendees are not required to have game tickets.
The Bills Toronto Series has also tapped Reebok Canada as its official apparel and headwear supplier. The Bills will wear special Reebok-designed uniforms, complete with Bills Toronto Series logos, during each game of the series.
Reebok has also created a line of caps and apparel to commemorate the series, items that will be sold at SportChek in Toronto.
Budweiser and Reebok were already sponsors of NFL Canada, but Montgomery said the companies wanted to develop associations specific to the Bills Toronto Series.
“The interesting thing is that, as NFL Canada sponsors, technically they don’t need to step up to another level of sponsorship,” said Montgomery. “But both are passionate supporters of the Bills Toronto Series and the fact that we’re finally bringing meaningful NFL games to Toronto.”
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics Canada is also getting in on the Bills party as the sponsor of an event at Toronto’s Dundas Square this Wednesday. The Samsung Bills Toronto Kick-Off Party runs from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. and includes autograph sessions with former Bills and Steelers players, a chicken-wing eating contest and live music. Another edition of the event will precede the Bills’ Dec. 7 regular-season game in Toronto against the Miami Dolphins.
