Sheetz Teams Up With Major League Baseball Team as Jersey Sponsor
ALTOONA, Pa. — Sheetz Inc. is the latest convenience store retailer to collaborate with a Major League Baseball team, joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in a multiyear partnership and becoming the team's first-ever jersey patch partner.
As of June 21, Sheetz has its logo featured on the sleeves of Pirates home and road jerseys.
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Already a well-established brand in western Pennsylvania, the retailer stated it plans to use the team-up to build its national name recognition, as well as feature marketing efforts and collaborations that will engage both Pirates fans and Sheetz customers, such as ballpark signage, in-game activations and unique digital content.
"If you take our market area and the Pirates' fanbase and overlay those two, you'd be hard pressed to find many gaps," said Sheetz President and CEO Travis Sheetz. "For sure, we think from a customer standpoint, a brand awareness standpoint and a brand reputation standpoint, this is a great connection."
The two organizations also plan to focus on various community-based initiatives to support local youth teams and other nonprofit organizations.
In conjunction with the announcement, the groups cohosted a youth baseball team from the Moon Little League at a local Sheetz for a unique "Sheetz Run" experience with Pirates players Colin Holderman and Oneil Cruz as well as the Pirates mascots. The young players were treated to an in-store shopping experience where they were able to select their favorite Sheetz treats before enjoying them in a picnic setting while they interacted with Holderman and Cruz.
Pennsylvania-based Sheetz isn't the first c-store operator to sponsor a team in the wake of the MLB and MLB Players Association approving the use of sponsor patches on jerseys as part of a new collective bargaining agreement in 2023. Last summer, Marathon Petroleum Corp. partnered with the Cleveland Guardians to become the team's official patch sponsor, with their Endurance logo scheduled for display through the end of the 2026 season.
Established in 1952 in Altoona, Sheetz is one of America's fastest-growing family-owned and -operated convenience store chains with more than 25,000 employees and 730 stores, including 70 locations in the Pittsburgh area.