BIGGBY® COFFEE ANNOUNCES NAMING RIGHTS FOR THREE BLACK BEAR SPORTS GROUP ICE ARENAS IN MICHIGAN
Bethesda, MD – BIGGBY® COFFEE is excited to announce a dynamic partnership with Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. by securing the naming rights to three properties Black Bear has purchased in the Michigan market. The three arenas include BIGGBY® COFFEE Ice Cube- Ann Arbor (formerly known as the Ann Arbor Ice Cube), BIGGBY® COFFEE Ice Cube- East Lansing (formerly known as Suburban Ice East Lansing) and BIGGBY® COFFEE Ice Cube- Brighton (formerly known as Kensington Valley Ice House). The agreement also provides for and structures the long-term sponsorship of the BIGGBY® COFFEE Hockey Club which supports boys and girls at the Tier 1, 2, and 3 levels, along with Learn-to-Play and adult hockey headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI.
“BIGGBY® COFFEE is a mainstay brand in Michigan, “said Murry N. Gunty, Founder and CEO of Black Bear. “Mike McFall and his team have an engrained culture and passion for supporting the growth of hockey and figure skating in the communities they proudly serve. We are thrilled to be aligned with BIGGBY® COFFEE.”
“Working with Black Bear Sports Group has been a pleasure,” said Mike McFall, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of BIGGBY® COFFEE. “They are professionals bringing loads of experience to our program and to youth hockey in Michigan. It is easy to work together as we are aligned in our purpose; to get more kids playing hockey and to positively impact the community through youth sports.”
About Biggby Coffee
BIGGBY® COFFEE, based in East Lansing, Mich., was started with a single store on March 15, 1995. One year later, and on the cusp of opening a second location, Bob Fish and Michael McFall, on a handshake and $4,000, decided to franchise the concept. The brand’s cultural values of Make Friends, Have Fun, B Yourself and Share Great Coffee help coffee lovers and the coffee-curious alike benefit from a less pretentious and fun approach to the standard gourmet cafe paradigm. Besides connoisseur-worthy drinks with names like Teddy Bear® and Caramel Marvel®, BIGGBY® COFFEE baristas provide a unique experience focused on brightening their customers’ day and supporting them in building a life they love. The “Big ‘B’” on the orange background caught on, and today BIGGBY® COFFEE has 385 cafes across many states, including Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Florida.
About Black Bear Sports Group, Inc.
Black Bear Sports Group, Inc. is a privately held company formed by Murry Gunty and Blackstreet Capital Holdings, LLC in 2015 that seeks investments in sports and entertainment facilities, teams, and youth sports events. Black Bear arenas are clean, professionally managed, and offer world-class recreational programs. Black Bear focuses on ice arenas in metropolitan areas with compelling demographics, markets with a National Hockey League club presence, and arenas with existing youth hockey clubs. Black Bear not only features the ability to acquire healthy and stable arenas but also the expertise required to turn around mismanaged or underperforming facilities. The largest owner/operator of ice arenas in the U.S., Black Bear’s footprint totals 37 facilities across the United States with 72 sheets of indoor ice, four indoor turf fields, 34 youth hockey clubs, four hockey leagues (Atlantic Hockey Federation, Atlantic Girls Hockey Federation, Tier 1 Hockey Federation, and Foundry Adult Hockey), two tournament businesses (Defender Hockey Tournaments and the National Girls Hockey League), and seven Junior “A” hockey franchises with membership in the United States Hockey League, North American Hockey League, USPHL NCDC, USPHL Premier and Elite, and the Eastern Hockey League.
