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The Alabama Crimson Tide has unveiled a sponsorship unlike any other we’ve seen before. According to Sports Business Journal reporter, Adam Stern, NASCAR will be paying the University of Alabama’s Athletics department to become an official sponsor. This partnership comes as not only a surprise but a sweet one at that.
This deal entails a one-year deal starting this Summer and ending in the Summer of 2023, although the monetary figures have not been released yet. NASCAR will now have the right to use Alabama’s IP, in-venue and experiential activation opportunities, social and digital media integration and first-party data that the league will use to help drive their ticket sales.
Why The NASCAR Pairing Makes Sense
As most know in the State of Alabama, Football is king. Without football, the culture of Alabama would be drastically different and would not look the same. After college football, many believe there isn’t much else you could say about the sporting culture in the state. Yet this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Since 1969, the Talladega Superspeedway has been home to one of the most exciting and blood-pumping races in the world. It is the only stadium in Alabama that can hold a larger capacity of fans than Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. While Bryant-Denny is the 10th largest traditional sports stadium in the world according to World Atlas, with a capacity of 101,821 fans, Talladega holds around 175,000 fans in the grandstands, infield, and other spectating areas. The two venues are only 103 miles away from each other which is about an hour and a half away.
On top of being the largest venue in the state, the University of Auburn at Montgomery found that two races in a year bring in about $420 million to the local economy. There is no doubt that NASCAR has a special place in the hearts of many Alabamians who also root for the Tide or Tigers every Saturday during football season.
More Details Regarding The Deal With NASCAR
On top of the amenities included above, NASCAR will also feature radio advertisements, new signage, and several other marketing assets between Tuscaloosa and Birmingham, Alabama. During each of the seven home games this season, the large LED video boards will feature “NASCAR Drive Summary”. A similar feature will also be present at Coleman Coliseum, the home of the Tide’s basketball program during their upcoming season. NASCAR will also be sponsoring the weekly Crimson Tide Sports Network show on Facebook.
Bringing together the two most popular sports for collaboration is always a good deal to make, but in Alabama, it just works. Although the deal is only inked for one year currently, it is likely only a test run to see which methods work better than others for future purposes.
If things do go well this upcoming season it is hard to see a partnership like this fade away anytime soon. Fans will experience these new changes in Bryant-Denny as soon as September 3, 2022, when the Crimson Tide takes on the Utah State Aggies to open their season.
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