Lancashire Cricket and Emirates shortlisted for Partnership of the Year award
Lancashire Cricket and its long-term headline partner Emirates, the world’s largest international airline, have been shortlisted at the Sports Business Awards in the Partnership/Sponsorship of the Year category.
The partnership began in April 2013 and this year’s seven-year extension means that Emirates will remain as principal headline sponsor at Lancashire Cricket and naming rights partner for Emirates Old Trafford and be on the front of the Club’s T20 shirt for at least 17 years making it one of the most recognisable and respected sponsorships in sport. Also, one of the very few stadium naming rights agreements in UK elite sport that doesn’t involve an affiliated company of a team owner.
Over the past year, Lancashire Cricket has worked closely with the Emirates team on a number of campaign and projects which have been hugely beneficial to the continued growth of both businesses together. This summer saw the launch of the ‘Unbeaten Partnership’ campaign, which kicked off with the Emirates Cabin Crew attending the sold-out Roses T20 fixture at Emirates Old Trafford in May.
The aim of the campaign was to reflect on the key moments from the past 10 years of the Lancashire Cricket and Emirates partnership, which has included the ongoing redevelopment of Emirates Old Trafford, success on the field for Lancashire Cricket such as the 2015 T20 Blast victory and over one million Emirates customers now flying through Manchester Airport each year.
Lancashire Cricket twice visited the Expo 2020 Dubai – taking in the Emirates Pavilion Experience – and creating content - together with Emirates - which helped to drive exposure of the Expo to the Club’s audience back in the UK. Meanwhile, the Club also hosted its pre-season tour in Dubai in March, where Lancashire’s men’s team were joined by the women’s Thunder squad – a first joint tour ever undertaken by a First-Class county.
Commenting on the nomination, Chief Executive, Daniel Gidney said: “We’re very excited to have been shortlisted for Partnership of the Year category in this year’s Sports Business Awards.
“The partnership between Lancashire and Emirates is now one of the most respected and long-standing partnerships in domestic cricket and this nomination is just reward for the work the Club’s partnership team have put in over the last 12 months.
“We are incredibly grateful for the support from Emirates and we look forward to continue working with their team.”
Since Emirates acquired naming rights of the iconic home of Lancashire Cricket back in 2013 and became the Club’s Principal Naming Partner, Emirates Old Trafford has played host to global events such as the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup – including the India vs Pakistan fixture which was watched by a television audience of over 1billion – two Ashes Test matches between England and Australia, and also the One Love Concert which was shown around the world in response to the Manchester Arena tragedy.
2023 will see another busy year at Emirates Old Trafford with the home of Lancashire Cricket hosting internationals against Australia and New Zealand (IT20) as well as Lancashire’s domestic campaign, The Hundred as well as the recently-announced Arctic Monkeys concert. It is also set to be just as big a year for the venue away from live events as the latest redevelopment, which includes a 100-room hotel extension to the current Hilton Garden Inn, a lower tier stand and concourse, a new restaurant space, as well as enhanced facilities such as a museum experience and retail store, is scheduled to open for the Ashes Test in July.