NEW YORK, TORONTO and TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The National Hockey League® (NHL) today announced it has expanded its relationship with Honda. As part of a multi-year agreement, American Honda Motor Co. will include Honda Canada Inc. as League sponsor in the automotive category in North America.

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Honda will sustain its strong commitment to the League’s national broadcast partners, NBC in the U.S. and Rogers in Canada. Honda will further support its NHL® relationship through a significant media commitment including promotions across the NHL’s media platforms such as NHL.com, NHL Social™ and NHL Mobile™. The new agreement also leverages the NHL brand through use of League marks and collective use of team marks in Honda’s national consumer and trade advertising and promotion.

“Aligning the personality of Honda vehicles with the NHL is a natural extension of our fun-spirited brand,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager Honda Division. “Participating in and being a part of sporting tradition also matches well with the activities of our owners. We’re thrilled to expand this relationship with the NHL in so many key ways to showcase the clean, safe and versatile nature of our lineup.”

“Hockey is a defining aspect of our culture and our relationship with the NHL is something we’re very proud of,” said Dave Gardner, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Honda Canada Inc. “Whether you’re a player or a spectator, hockey is something millions of Canadians are passionate about and that same level of excitement runs deep within Honda.”

Honda will continue its participation and activations at key NHL events throughout the season. Honda’s award-winning vehicles, including the all-new 2016 Honda HR-V crossover, and Honda CR-V, which is the 2015 Motor Trend Sport/Utility of the year, and Honda Civic, the number one selling car in Canada for the past 16 years, will activate across key events including NHL Face-Off™, NHL Winter Classic®, NHL® All-Star Weekend, NHL Heritage Classic™, NHL Stadium Series™, NHL Awards™, and NHL Draft™, as well as throughout the Stanley Cup® Playoffs and Stanley Cup Final.

“Honda has been a longtime supportive sponsor of the League and this expansion of the relationship into Canada is a validation of the power of the NHL brand and our fan base,” said Keith Wachtel, NHL Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships. “We look forward to exciting and engaging activations for hockey fans on both sides of the border.”

At the 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend, Honda will serve as title sponsor for the 2015 Honda NHL All-Star Skills Competition™ taking place on Jan. 24, where the greatest players in the League will face off in a series of on-ice contests including the fastest skater, accuracy shooting, hardest shot, and the breakaway challenge, among others. Honda will also be the title sponsor of the 2015 Honda NHL® All-Star Game on Jan. 25, where the Columbus Blue Jackets will host elite NHL players in front of thousands of fans.

The 2015 NHL All-Star Weekend is a fitting location for Honda to make a splash and to celebrate its relationship with the National Hockey League. Ohio is home to 11 Honda facilities including a four-million square foot facility at the center of designing and producing vehicles for more than 100 countries around the world.

NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and the word mark NHL Winter Classic are registered trademarks and NHL Social, NHL Mobile, NHL Face-Off name and logo, the NHL All-Star Game logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo and NHL All-Star Skills Competition name and logo are trademarks of the National Hockey League. NHL and NHL team marks are the property of the NHL and its teams.
© NHL 2014. All Rights Reserved.

About the NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL®), founded in 1917, consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters, vying for the most cherished and historic trophy in professional sports – the Stanley Cup®. Every year the NHL entertains more than 250 million fans in-arena and through its partners on national television and radio; more than 10 million fans on its social platforms; and more than 300 million fans online at NHL.com. In Canada, the 2014-15 season marks the beginning of a landmark 12-year broadcast and multimedia agreement with Rogers Communications, which includes national rights to NHL games on all platforms in all languages. In the U.S., the NHL is in the fourth season of its 10-year agreement with NBC and NBCSN, the 10^th consecutive season both networks have served as national television partners. The NHL is committed to giving back to the community with programs including: Hockey is for Everyone™, which supports nonprofit youth hockey organizations across North America; Hockey Fights Cancer™, raising money for local and national cancer organizations; NHL Green™, which is committed to pursuing sustainable business practices; and a partnership with the You Can Play Project, which is committed to supporting the LGBT community and fighting homophobia in sports. The NHL received three 2014 Sports Business Awards: “Sports League of the Year,” “Sports Executive of the Year” recognizing Commissioner Gary Bettman, and “Sports Event of the Year” for the 2014 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic®. For more information, visit NHL.com.

About Honda U.S.
Honda offers a full line of reliable, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive automobiles for American car buyers through approximately 1,000 independent U.S. Honda dealers. The Honda lineup includes the Accord, Crosstour, Civic, Fit, CR-Z and Insight along with the Pilot, and CR-V sport-utility vehicles and the Odyssey minivan.

Honda has the highest brand fuel economy¹ and the longest-lasting cars² of any mainstream automotive brand in America, and more models achieving an IIHS TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating than any other automotive nameplate.

Honda has been producing automobiles in America for more than 30 years and currently operates 16 major manufacturing facilities in North America. In 2013, more than 94 percent of all Honda vehicles sold in U.S. were made in North America, using domestic and globally sourced parts.

¹ Based on model year 2012 fuel economy data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its report: “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions, and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 Through 2013.”

² Longevity based on IHS Automotive, Polk U.S. vehicles in operation registration statistics 1988-2012 for Honda and non-luxury competing brands.

About Honda Canada
Honda Canada Inc. was founded in 1969. It has produced more than 6.5 million cars and trucks since 1986 at its two manufacturing facilities and builds engines at a third manufacturing plant in Alliston, Ontario. Both manufacturing facilities are extremely flexible and currently build Honda Civic and CR-V models. Honda Canada has invested more than $3.9 billion in Canada and each year it sources nearly $2.1 billion in goods and services from Canadian suppliers. Honda Canada has sold more than 4 million Honda and Acura passenger cars and light-duty trucks in Canada.

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