NBA basketball franchise the Charlotte Hornets has agreed a multi-year sponsorship deal with accounting and consulting company Grant Thornton.
The deal, effective immediately, names Grant Thornton the team’s official accounting firm.
As part of the agreement, the company will receive courtside advertising at the Hornets’ Time Warner Cable Arena, where it will also lease a suite. In addition, Grant Thornton will have its branding displayed at the arena’s Crown Club, a private bar and restaurant facility.
“The two organisations have very similar cultures,” Dave Wedding, chairman of Grant Thornton’s partnership board, told the Charlotte Business Journal newspaper. “We believe in the same things, so we should be doing business together.”
The Hornets last month agreed partnerships with US financial institution Bank of America and regional financial services company Charlotte Metro Credit Union. The deal with Grant Thornton marks the club's first-ever major sponsorship deal with an accounting firm.