As 2024 comes to a close, Tim Hortons and Hamilton Sports Group are celebrating the impact of the inaugural stadium naming rights agreement that helped build and launch Tim Hortons Field.
Since it opened, the stadium has played host to over 250 premium sports and entertainment events, which attracted three million live attendees. It has also seen over 10,000 hours of community activity and has been used to raise more than $3 million for charity.
The Hamilton Sports Group, which owns the Tiger-Cats, Forge FC, and the long-term stadium lease, will announce a new naming rights partner and a new name for the building in due course.
Yes, the Donut Box will need a new nickname.
Tim Hortons and Hamilton Sports Group will continue to be major partners in a variety of sponsorship and community-based initiatives, but the building that houses the Ticats, Forge and many, many other events, will be known as something different.
In the last four years alone, Tim Hortons Field has hosted 100 ticketed events including two Grey Cups, the NHL Heritage Classic, an outdoor OHL game, the memorable FIFA Men’s World Cup Qualifier won by Canada over the U.S., over 40 Ticats games and more than 70 Forge FC matches.
“We’re proud of our 10-year partnership that helped launch a beautiful new multi-purpose stadium for the city of Hamilton,” said Hope Bagozzi, Chief Marketing Officer for Tim Hortons. “We, along with Tims restaurant owners, look forward to continuing to be a sponsor of the Tiger-Cats and other Canadian Football League teams across the country.”
When it was signed in 2014, the naming rights agreement was hailed as a natural fit between two east-end institutions—the town team and the local donut shop—which sprung to life just a few blocks from each other and each have grown into internationally-recognized brands.
“Similar to how the stadium grounds have evolved over time, our partnership with Tim Hortons has evolved throughout the last 60-plus years,” said Matt Afinec, President and Chief Operating Officer of Business Operations for Hamilton Sports Group. “Since the first Tim Hortons store opened in 1964 on Ottawa Street North, our two brands have been connected as proud Hamilton partners. They’ll continue to be linked through this latest evolution, just in a different way.”
Afinec continued, “Tim Hortons will remain a significant and long-term partner of the Tiger-Cats and the stadium itself. We also look forward to continuing our great relationships with our local Tim Hortons restaurant owners here in Hamilton, who were instrumental in the stadium’s success over the last 10 years.”
The new naming partner for Hamilton’s biggest and most successful entertainment venue will become profoundly attached to one of the busiest outdoor stadia in Canada, which has a world-wide reach engendered by the unique popularity of the Tiger-Cats, the ongoing successes of Forge FC, and the plethora of international sporting and entertainment events it has hosted over the past decade.
