After 14 years of sponsorship, Coral Windows and Conservatories have decided to bring an end their partnership with Bradford City Football Club. The 26 year old company, with branches across Yorkshire, are returning to their roots as far as sponsorships are concerned.
Coral Windows and Conservatories said they feel it is very important to associate with smaller organisations across the wider Yorkshire area to support the youth of today further as they did in 2002 when they started with supporting the Centre of Excellence here at the football club.
Managing Director John Valente said:
'After so many years of partnership with the club, we will be sad to leave the stadium, but we know we are leaving them in a much stronger position than when we started.'
'The time has come for Coral to develop other strategies across a wider geographical area. We already have a number of sponsorships in place and have other potential sponsorships to develop supporting various youth academies throughout Yorkshire - the potential stars of tomorrow.'
'This move will also allow someone else the opportunity to be associated with this prestigious club in the future and inject new ideas for future success.'
The stadium rights are available on a three-year deal and Chief Operating Officer James Mason said:
'We've already put our feelers out to a couple of potential sponsors, but we may also toy with the idea of going back to basics and just calling it Valley Parade.'
'There's merit in that, although money talks in football these days. If we receive a good offer, it can only assist Phil Parkinson's budget, so we are actively looking.'
With City ranked second in League One for home attendance last season, the club feels that coming on board with the sponsorship of the stadium offers businesses, both local and national, a fantastic opportunity to boost their exposure.
The company would receive significant exposure on television, with the club's matches televised on a number of occasions each season and with regular reference to the stadium name on television on a weekly basis.
The exposure doesn't end there though, with regular reference to the club's stadium name on all media platforms, including radio and newspaper.
Average crowds last season exceeded 18,000 and any business looking to grow their brand are offered this superb chance to do so by the club, and we welcome any interested parties to contact our Commercial department.
Email: commercial@bradfordcityfc.co.uk
Telephone: 0871 978 1911
Finally, we must go on record as a football club, to thank Coral Windows for their involvement with ourselves over the last 14 years and for their sponsorship of the stadium for the last 9 years.
The two names have become synonymous, but we fully understand their decision. We wish them nothing but success in the future.