Black Sheep Brewery has announced a major new sponsorship deal with newly-promoted Harrogate Town AFC of League 2.
Black Sheep Brewery chief executive, Charlene Lyons (centre) with Harrogate players (left to right) Danilo Orsi, Rachel McDonald, Beth Jennings, and Josh Falkingham. Photograph: Black Sheep Brewery
Black Sheep will become the official beer of the club, as well as secure naming rights for its newly-built car park terrace, the Black Sheep Brewery Stand.
The football club, led by manager Simon Weaver, won promotion to the Football League for the first time after winning the National League play-off final in 2020. Despite this, throughout the whole of 2021, the club’s fans have not had the chance to watch the team play a League 2 fixture in-person at the stadium, due to the pandemic.
However, from Saturday (7th August) that’s set to change, with Town hosting Rochdale with a full capacity home crowd. It is hoped the sponsorship will help welcome fans back to the 5,021 capacity EnviroVent Stadium. Black Sheep’s iconic Best Bitter will take pride of place as the stadium’s exclusive cask ale brand.
Charlene Lyons, chief executive of Black Sheep Brewery, said: “This really is a sponsorship of firsts. It’s the first time Black Sheep has ever sponsored a football club, and also the first time this year the club’s loyal fans will get to see their team play at the EnviroVent stadium. And, best of all, Black Sheep Best Bitter will be on tap to welcome them back into the ground.
“But more than that, the sponsorship really underpins our strategy to engage meaningfully with the community in which we operate. During lockdown we saw fantastic demand for Black Sheep via our online store, both nationally, and all across North Yorkshire, and now we want to start putting something back into the communities that have supported us so passionately.”
Harrogate Town managing director, Garry Plant, said: “Black Sheep is a business that does things its own way, and has a real sense of identity and provenance — just like our football club. These shared values really make this sponsorship deal a special one, and we look forward to Black Sheep helping make the Harrogate Town experience a memorable one for home and away fans.”
