Steelers, Kennywood deal mutually beneficial to Western Pennsylvania icons
Call it the Immaculate Collaboration.
That’s the consensus of sports marketing professionals reacting to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ recently announced partnership deal with Kennywood Park. The deal includes creating a themed area at the West Mifflin amusement park called Steelers Country that features a new megacoaster called The Steel Curtain.
“It’s two Pittsburgh institutions. It ties those positive brands together and solidifies the community,” said John Clark, a sport management professor at Robert Morris University in Moon.
Clark said the union makes business sense for both sides, and it also may signal a future trend for professional sports franchises looking to capitalize on their brands beyond the sports season.
The NFL as a whole has long looked for new ways to remain in the public consciousness and make money during the spring and summer months so it can have a “year-round presence,” Clark said. Starting next year when the themed area is scheduled to open, it also could give fans flocking to the team’s training camp in Latrobe an added Steelers attraction in Western Pennsylvania as football season begins to ramp up.
The Steelers’ partnership with Kennywood is the first of its kind involving a professional sports team and an amusement park, according to team and park officials. Clark and Ronald Dick, an associate professor of sports marketing at Pittsburgh’s Duquesne University, said if the local partnership works, expect to see similar ones at other amusement parks.
Across the state, Allentown’s Dorney Park might be a good spot for the Eagles to extend their brand, Clark and Dick said.
“These are your future season-ticket holders,” Dick said of the children who attend amusement parks.
Neither Kennywood nor the Steelers would say how much money is involved in the deal.
“Those details are something we’re going to keep confidential at this time,” Kennywood spokesman Nick Paradise said. “There’s certainly a formalized relationship between the team and the park.”
Such relationships tend to mean more money for sports teams. NFL sponsorship revenue totaled $1.32 billion during the 2017-18 season, according to the IEG Sponsorship Report.
IEG is a Chicago-based firm that provides sponsorship consulting, research and analysis.
Kennywood is owned by Parques Reunidos, a Spanish company that operates amusement parks around the world.
“We are excited to be hosting the Steelers family through this partnership,” company CEO Fernando Eiroa said in a statement. “This new themed area is a milestone in our strategy to integrate sports in our entertainment offering, and we are certain that many fans will enjoy the Steelers immersive experience at our most visited park in the U.S., Kennywood.”
Tom Davidson is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tom at 724-226-4715, tdavidson@tribweb.com or via Twitter @kingofgonzo.
