INDEPENDENT NEWS

Kiwi Company To Sponsor High Profile Aussie Team

Published: Wed 26 Jul 2000 03:12 PM
KIWI COMPANY TO SPONSOR HIGH PROFILE AUSSIE CRICKETERS
Auckland-based Excell Corporation is proud to announce its major sponsorship of Cricket New South Wales, including naming rights sponsorship of the premier state team, to be known as the Excell Blues.
Cricket New South Wales has been the game’s driving force in Australia for nearly 150 years. The State side has a proud record of outstanding performance in inter-state competition, and currently boasts 8 current internationals, including Steve and Mark Waugh, Brett Lee, Michael Slater, Michael Bevan and Glen McGrath. This year the Blues are set to turn around recent disappointments with the return of former New Zealand coach Steve Rixon, new captain Shane Lee and a new management team.
“Excell Corporation is delighted to enter into a partnership with Cricket New South Wales at a time of change and challenge for both organisations,” Excell Chief Executive Earl Stevens said.
“Preparing playing fields and parks is a core business for us in Australia. We believe the relationship will be a great fit as we work with Cricket New South Wales to develop the game at all levels across the state.”
Excell Corporation currently prepares around 60% of cricket grounds in the greater Melbourne area. The company also has major contracts with Moore Park Trust (which manages Centennial Park) and with Parramatta Parks in Sydney.
“The opportunity to sponsor the Blues was hard to overlook,” Earl Stevens said. “We’re only just beginning to tap the enormous potential of New South Wales. With our name on the side of the State team we will have the sort of visibility in cricket-mad New South Wales that an All Black sponsor might expect in New Zealand.”
Excell has grown its revenue in Australia from zero to around NZ$70 million in four years from 1996, expanding from a Melbourne base into ACT, NSW and Queensland. In New Zealand, the company has grown revenue from $39 million to $110 million in the same period, and has depots across the country from Auckland to Ashburton.
“We’re a young company with a lot to prove,” Earl Stevens said. “But in a short space of time we’ve built a great team in Australia. We are very proud to be associated with Cricket New South Wales and with a truly great team like the Blues. Naturally we wish Steve, Shane and the guys all the very best for the coming season.”
Excell Corporation currently has no major sponsorship properties in New Zealand.
“We’ve made a strategic decision to invest for growth in New South Wales,” Dr Stevens said. “That won’t preclude us investing in New Zealand if a similar opportunity arises here. However, the business case for backing the Excell Blues is very compelling.”
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For further information, please contact:
Earl Stevens, Chief Executive, Tel (09) 272 8940
Steve Wilkins, Marketing Manager, Tel (00 61) 401 101 396
Peter Hallwright (Network Communications) (09) 306 5803, 025 444 534
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