Nearly all of the WooSox biggest corporate sponsors have renewed their deals, some through 2030

Photo | Courtesy of the Worcester Red Sox A Worcester Red Sox game at Polar Park in 2022

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By Isabel Tehan

Of the 21 corporate sponsors who initially signed on as Founding Partners for the Worcester Red Sox ahead of their inaugural season, 16 have so far committed past the initial three-year term to renew their relationship with the team until at least 2025, with three locking in until 2030. The initial founding partnership term expires at the end of December.

The Founding Partner level was the highest sponsorship level at the time of the team’s launch at Polar Park in 2021, though additional sponsors were added at that level after the founding 21 Club, said Jack Verducci, WooSox senior vice president of corporate partnerships and sales. Founding Partners included beverage manufacturer Polar Beverages, for which the park is named, Assumption University, and dessert manufacturer Table Talk Pies, all located in Worcester.

“We have been so fortunate to have the strength of the business community that Worcester has,” Verducci said. “I’m not sure how many cities would have such a strong and collaborative business community.”

Verducci cited the willingness of partners to co-sponsor the team with other entities in their industry, for example, several in the financial services industry, including Whitinsville-based UniBank, Ware-based Country Bank, and Marlborough-based Digital Federal Credit Union.

Five original Founding Partners remain uncommitted, though Verducci said none have told the WooSox they will not be returning for sponsorship into 2024. Conversations around these sponsorships are ongoing, Verducci said.

Verducci said he expects the remaining five corporate sponsors to maintain some level of partnership even if they do not re-up at the highest level.

WooSox did not specify which of its Founding Partners had committed to maintaining partnerships at this time. The companies listed as Founding Partners are Polar Beverages, Assumption University, Auburn-based Atlas Distributing, Berkshire Bank of Boston, Massachusetts Credit Unions, Country Bank, DCU, Worcester insurer Fallon Health, Spencer manufacturer FLEXcon, Springfield construction firm Fontaine Brothers, Worcester-based Hanover Insurance Group, the Worcester skyscraper Mercantile Center, casino MGM Springfield, Holliston-based contractor Rodenhiser Home Services, Worcester manufacturer Saint-Gobain, Table Talk Pies, UniBank, insurer Unum, Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, Worcester Business Development Corp., Worcester Telegram & Gazette, and Worcester-based Wormtown Brewery.

The WooSox have not specified dollar amounts of its sponsorship levels, although team Principal Owner Larry Lucchino told the Telegram & Gazette in 2020 the Founding Partnerships are contributing several millions of dollars to the team in its first few seasons in Worcester.