Hanover Insurance Steps Up to the Plate
10 Mai 2005 - 5:11PM
PR Newswire (US)
Hanover Insurance Steps Up to the Plate Insurer to be Primary
Sponsor for Worcester Tornadoes, City's New Minor League Baseball
Team, Company Acquires Ballpark Naming Rights WORCESTER, Mass., May
10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Hanover Insurance Company and
Worcester Professional Baseball, LLC, today announced that they
have reached an agreement for Hanover to be the primary sponsor for
the Worcester Tornadoes. The Tornadoes are the first professional
baseball team to call Worcester home in 71 years and the newest
member of the Canadian-American Association of Professional
Baseball, an independent professional baseball minor league.
Hanover's sponsorship agreement extends for three years, beginning
with the Tornadoes' inaugural season in 2005 and continuing through
the 2007 season. "As a property and casualty insurer, we generally
try to keep a distance from tornadoes," joked Frederick H.
Eppinger, president and chief executive officer of Allmerica
Financial Corporation, parent company to Hanover Insurance. "But,
in this case, we are happy to make an exception and excited to be
the primary sponsor of the Tornadoes, welcoming professional
baseball back to Worcester. Our relationship with the Tornadoes is
in keeping with the Allmerica and Hanover tradition of teamwork and
collaboration to make our community a better place for families to
live and work." Hanover's agreement with the team includes naming
rights to the extensively renovated ballpark at Fitton Field, on
the campus of The College of the Holy Cross, in Worcester, where
the Tornadoes will play their 52 home games. The stadium, which is
being expanded to accommodate 3,000 seats, will be renamed Hanover
Insurance Park at Fitton Field in time for the team's home opener
on Monday, June 6, vs. the Brockton Rox. In addition to signage at
the renamed stadium, the Hanover name and logo also will appear on
Tornadoes players' uniforms, in program advertising, at the
official Tornadoes Web site and on some team souvenirs. Hanover
also will have use of a "branded" hospitality tent where the
company plans to host community groups and guests at interactive
events, such as player autograph signings. A group of 100
designated seats also will be used by Allmerica and Hanover to
benefit agencies and organizations that provide services to local
youth. Allmerica and Hanover employees, and Hanover agents also
will benefit through discounted tickets and special employee
events. Hanover and the Tornadoes have agreed to work together
throughout the calendar year--not only during the baseball
season--to create new opportunities for families and children to
connect with their schools, with the team and with the community.
"Hanover and the Tornadoes will work together to leverage the
popularity and visibility of the team," said Eppinger. "We will be
out in the schools and neighborhoods, talking to children about the
importance of teamwork, commitment and community." "It was very
important for our organization to start off with the right sponsors
and so, we certainly are thrilled to have Allmerica and Hanover
Insurance on our team," said Alan Stone, team president and CEO of
Worcester Professional Baseball, LLC. "As our primary sponsor,
Hanover swings a big bat. I know they will bring tremendous energy
and enthusiasm that will benefit baseball fans from throughout the
region, as well as the city and our community as a whole." In
February, Worcester Professional Baseball introduced Rich Gedman as
the team's first manager. Gedman, a Worcester native, is best known
as an All-Star catcher with the Boston Red Sox from 1980 to 1990.
He concluded his 13-year major league career with the Houston
Astros and St. Louis Cardinals. The Tornadoes will play in the
South Division of the Can-Am League, together with teams from
Elmira, New Haven and New Jersey. Teams in the North Division are
from Bangor, Brockton, Lynn and Quebec. "It has taken great vision
and collaboration in the public spirit to make baseball a reality
for Worcester," said Michael O'Brien, Worcester City Manager.
"Allmerica and Hanover Insurance exemplify that collaborative
spirit in our city and Hanover, in a sense, leads the way as the
Tornadoes' primary sponsor." "It is great teamwork by partners
across the city that made this exciting day possible for our city,"
said Worcester Mayor Tim Murray. "The Tornadoes and the CanAm
league, Holy Cross, the City of Worcester, the private sector-- we
all have played an important part in a great team effort. Today we
tip our hats to Allmerica and Hanover Insurance, who, as the
primary team sponsors, have really delivered for the families of
Worcester." "Today's announcement continues the positive momentum
that City Manager O'Brien and Mayor Murray have generated in
bringing renewed economic development and a stronger sense of civic
life to the city," said Rev. Michael C. McFarland, S.J., president
of Holy Cross. "Sports, in particular baseball, can bring a
community together in a way that few other activities can. Holy
Cross is proud to contribute to this development as a part of the
UniverCity Partnership. We welcome Hanover Insurance as another
important partner in this endeavor. We are seeing what can be
accomplished when the City, the colleges and universities and the
business community work together for the common good." About
Hanover Insurance The Hanover Insurance Company is a member of the
Allmerica Financial group of insurance companies headed by
Allmerica Financial Corporation (NYSE:AFC). Both companies are
headquartered in Worcester, Massachusetts. Hanover, founded in
1852, is a leading regional property and casualty company. The
company markets a wide range of personal and commercial insurance
coverages to individuals, families and businesses, primarily in the
Northeast and Southeast, through a broad network of independent
insurance agents. Taken together, Hanover and its affiliate,
Howell, Michigan, based Citizens Insurance Company of America, rank
among the 35 largest property and casualty groups in the country.
CONTACTS: Allmerica Financial/Hanover Insurance Media: Todd M.
Peckham, (508) 855-4460 E-mail: Michael Buckley, (508) 855-3099
E-mail: Investors: Sujata Mutalik, (508) 855-3457 E-mail: Worcester
Professional Baseball, LLC - Worcester Tornadoes Alan Stone,
President and Chief Executive Officer, (508) 792-2288 E-mail: Mike
Lieberman, General Manager, (508) 792-2288 E-mail: DATASOURCE:
Allmerica Financial/Hanover Insurance CONTACT: Media: Todd M.
Peckham, +1-508-855-4460, , or Michael Buckley, +1-508-855-3099, ,
or Investors: Sujata Mutalik, +1-508-855-3457, , all of Allmerica
Financial/Hanover Insurance; or Alan Stone, President and Chief
Executive Officer, +1-508-792-2288, , or Mike Lieberman, General
Manager, +1-508-792-2288, both of Worcester Professional Baseball,
LLC - Worcester Tornadoes
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