Coventry Elite League ice hockey team will be known as the CPP Coventry Blaze this season – after agreeing a sponsorship deal with a leading city firm.
Coventry-based automotive engineering firm CPP has struck a deal to sponsor its hometown Elite League Ice Hockey club for the forthcoming campaign which starts with a friendly at the Skydome Arena this Sunday against rivals, Hull Stingrays.
CPP’s name will also feature on the new Blaze match jerseys alongside the club’s new-look logo.
Caroline Lucy, Commercial Director of the Blaze and a Coventry Ambassador, said she is delighted that the club have secured the support of such a reputable local company.
She said: “It is fantastic that CPP has taken the opportunity to back the Blaze and we hope this is the start of a long and successful relationship for both parties.
“It’s particularly positive that we will once again be partnering with a Coventry firm, especially one that’s known around the world and whose profile propels the Blaze into a new and exciting market sector.”
Brendan O’Toole, founder and Managing Director of CPP, has continuously grown the business over the past 16 years and has seen it become a world-class British coach building company with a workforce of 250.
The company has experienced accelerated growth in the last two years – highlighted by its planned acquisition of Dutch luxury sports car company Spyker Cars N.V and Bowler Off Road, the Derbyshire-based manufacturer of all-terrain supercars – and O’Toole can see no better way to share this success than with the local community.
He said: “I have been following what the Blaze have been doing for a number of years now and like their style.
“We have been lucky enough to build up an international reputation but we know where our roots lie and remain very much a Coventry company so felt that supporting the Blaze would be a good way to give back to the local community.
“The city is clearly passionate about this team and we hope that by helping the Blaze, we can in turn help the city.
“We are also looking to expand in the next 12 months and see this as a good way to aid our recruitment drive.”
Paul Thompson, Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the Blaze, is about to lead his team for a record 17th consecutive season, looking to build on their status as the most successful side in the Elite League era.
Thompson, who is also both a City Ambassador and Head Coach of the Great Britain national team, agrees that the support of local businesses is key.
He said: “It makes a major statement that as a Coventry club, we have a Coventry company as our major sponsor.
“Over the years, the Blaze have been fortunate to have been backed by both local and national Coventry-based companies and we wouldn’t be where we are today without that support. We are therefore naturally delighted that CPP have agreed to become our major sponsors.
“Despite having won the league four times in the last seven years we didn’t do as well as we would have liked last season.
“But we have a young and exciting team for the new season and hopefully this can be the start of us getting back to where we want to be.”