The Stanley Cup Playoffs are in full swing – as noted by your workmates wearing jerseys, more street traffic and endless happy hours.
Lasting almost two months until a Stanley Cup champion is crowned, the National Hockey League’s postseason is a massive boost for businesses, especially those in the Canadian cities with teams that qualified for the playoffs.
According to a report by Moneris, businesses near a team’s arena consistently see the biggest uptick in sales. In 2022, Game 3 between the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames helped restaurants near Edmonton’s Rogers Place see a 233 per cent increase in spending.
Now let’s extend our net and look at publicly traded companies that might also see a boost during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Rogers Communications
Eleven years ago, Rogers (TSX:RCI.A) shelled out more than C$5 billion for a 12-year deal to become the exclusive national television and digital rightsholder for the NHL in Canada, beating out TSN. Under the contract, Rogers paid $150 million up-front along with ongoing yearly payments.
The 2023 first round of playoffs on Rogers-owned Sportsnet reached more than 19 million people and was the most-watched programs in Canada from April to June.
Rogers has a market cap of C$29 billion and company shares were last trading at C$59.20 Thursday.
Scotiabank
The Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS), or Scotiabank, returns to the playoffs for a 10th season as a title sponsor. In 2017, Toronto’s Air Canada Centre was renamed Scotiabank Arena in a 20-year sponsorship agreement with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for naming rights. The C$800 million price tag is 10 times more than what Air Canada paid nearly 20 years ago.
Associate professor Laurel Walzak at the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto notes it’s a big bet, “but very doable for a bank with their assets.”
Canada’s hockey bank closed Thursday at C$64.98.
Boston Pizza
Boston Pizza launched a “Team Up for the Win” campaign and is sponsoring a series of “streeter” videos on Sportsnet’s social channels.
In February, Boston Pizza Royalties Income Fund (TSX:BPF.UN) raised its monthly payment to unit-holders as it reported a fourth-quarter profit of more than C$5 million. The fund now pays a monthly distribution of 11.3 cents per unit, up from 10.7 cents per unit. The Income fund has a market cap of C$353 million and is up 55 percent from its start in 2008.
Fund shares were last trading at C$15.69.
Others getting a Stanley Cup Playoffs boost
Some other companies outside of publicly traded Canadian companies that are invested in the NHL playoffs.
Coca-Cola Co.
The worldwide beverage company owns Bodyarmor, which replaced BioSteel as the NHL’s official sports drink in 2024 after BioSteel filed for bankruptcy protection. Bodyarmour has some weight with three-time league MVP Connor McDavid who signed on in early 2024 after previously being associated with BioSteel.
The league also announced a new single-season attendance record of more than 22.5 million fans, increasing continued exposure for the beverage brand in some arenas in 2023-24.
Moosehead Breweries Ltd.
Another beverage with a twist, Truly Hard Seltzer and Twisted Tea in Canada announced a new multiyear partnership, naming Truly Hard Seltzer the Official Hard Seltzer of the NHL in Canada.
Truly Hard Seltzer, which is distributed in Canada by Moosehead Breweries, will gain broadcast exposure through digitally enhanced dasherboards seen during the Stanley Cup Playoffs broadcast on Sportsnet in Canada as well as through in-ice ads.
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(Top photo of NHL logo and a silhouette of the Stanley Cup: Adobe Stock)