Ball Corporation has teamed up with multiple sports-entertainment venues to enhance the customer experience and encourage the use of aluminum in beverage packaging. The infinitely recyclable Ball Aluminum Cup™ will be a main packaging solution in stadiums – alongside recyclable bottles and cans.
Kroenke and Ball Partnership
Ball and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) established a first-of-its kind global partnership across three venues in Denver, Coloradop; Los Angeles, California; and London, England. The partnership was founded on a shared vision to advance sustainability in sports and entertainment by strengthening in-venue aluminum recycling, providing fans with a more environmentally friendly fan experience and showcasing aluminum beverage packaging as the most sustainable choice.
The partnership includes naming rights for Ball and KSE’s hometown arena in Denver, home to the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, NHL’s Colorado Avalanches and NLL’s Colorado Mammoths. At Ball Arena in Denver, Ball will be KSE’s official and exclusive sustainability partner, working with KSE to transition to aluminum beverage packaging — cans, bottles and cups — for 100% of the venue’s concessions, with the goal of implementing a closed loop system by 2022. The partnership will include a comprehensive recycling and sustainability plan designed to strengthen the venue’s collection, processing, and reclamation, as well as investments in community education focused on aluminum recycling.
Ball and KSE will also partner with the Premier League’s Arsenal F.C. football (soccer) team, which plays in London’s Emirates Stadium, and the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams (American football team) at SoFi Stadium. Ball will become the official “Infinitely Recyclable Aluminum Packaging Partner,” providing the SoFi stadium with aluminum cups that will be used to serve beer and cocktails. The Rams will use the cups at team training facilities, camps and on game days.
“This is an important moment in sports and entertainment, and we are proud to partner with KSE to advance sustainability in venues by implementing real world solutions to the packaging waste crisis,” said John A. Hayes, chairman, president, and CEO of Ball Corporation. “We are committed to making recycling an easy, everyday choice for consumers by providing them with infinitely recyclable aluminum cans, bottles and cups that can be used and back on a store shelf in just 60 days, and enhancing recycling infrastructure in venues. We look forward to continuing to work with KSE to bring about positive change for years to come.”
Coors Joins the Aluminum Bandwagon
On November 30th, Coors Light and Ball agreed to bring the infinitely recyclable Ball Aluminum Cup to guests at the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Molson Coors (which makes Allegiant Stadium’s official domestic beer, Coors Light, as well as its official craft beer, Hop Valley, and official hard seltzer, Vizzy) is doing their part to support the stadium’s sustainability goals, as well as their own.
“We’re proud to team up with Coors Light to bring fans at Allegiant Stadium an enhanced beverage experience and sustainable hospitality options from the start with our game-changing and infinitely recyclable aluminum cup,” said Daniel W. Fisher, COO of global beverage packaging at Ball.
Upon the start of activities at Allegiant Stadium, 100,000 of the 20-ounce aluminum cups will be available in the club seats at all events. In addition to its sustainability and recycling strengths, the aluminum cup is lightweight, sturdy, and cool to the touch. It also can be customized with logos and graphics, as it will be for Allegiant Stadium.
“Coors Light has a long history of sustainable product innovation — in fact, many people don’t know that we pioneered the first-ever aluminum cans to hit the market back in 1959,” said Adam Dettman, director of partnerships and licensing at Molson Coors North America. “We’re proud to continue this history by partnering with Ball to ultimately provide fans with an eco-conscious experience, and a built-in piece of memorabilia that guests can take home after enjoying a game or event at Allegiant Stadium.”