Anyone who has a connection with Hillfoot will know that we’re proud sponsors of Sheffield Steelers, our local professional ice hockey team who’ve built a reputation as an indomitable force in this fast-paced sport. If you haven’t seen it already, watch our sponsorship video below.
Ice hockey is a rapidly growing sport that has an incredible fan base from all ages, and the Sheffield Steelers are certainly a team to be reckoned with. What attracted us to sponsoring the Steelers is that they share very similar values to us. They’re team players with a real sense of determination, coupled with a strong commitment to both family and community. Like us, they’re no nonsense, real people who take their sport seriously, but have loads of time for others. So, as part of our Environment and Social Governance policies, supporting them felt like a natural fit with our commitment to being an active presence in our local community.
You only have to attend one of their games to get a feel for what a great family atmosphere surrounds each match. It’s a fast-paced, high adrenaline sport with a battle of wills and minds to win. Which is why we get a great sense of pride right across our business for supporting such a renowned team, and the sense of strength that comes from being in a position to do this.
As corporate suite holders, it’s good to be able to offer our staff the perk of attending matches with friends and family, and of course it’s a great facility for entertaining customers, suppliers and stakeholders - a nice way of strengthening relationships outside the formal workplace.
Away from the ice rink, the Sheffield Steelers have been a real motivational force within local schools. Pre-Covid they would visit nominated schools to inspire young people and offer incentives, such as free tickets, for individual improvements in performance, especially around issues such as absence. We’re hoping that with Covid restrictions now lifted we can resume this fun and motivational part of their community engagement.
“A key attraction for sponsoring the Steelers is that, despite the full-on demands of being a competitive force within the game, they genuinely value the family and people aspect of this great spectator sport.
Without even asking they have generously given us signed team photos and facilitated family introductions to their team mascot Steeler Dan, which were delightful, unexpected gestures. Also, when we worked with them on making our sponsorship video they generously opened up the Sheffield arena, deployed a drone for aerial shots and brought along some of the team to take part in the filming. With their new season starting, we’d like to wish the team and their supporters every success. It’s great to be part of the Sheffield Steelers family”. Craig James, Managing Director.
“For the last ten years I've been the proud owner of the Steelers, a local man born and bred and delighted to have welcomed Hillfoot Steel into our family of partners supporting the club. A steel partner supporting the Steelers - this is what my predecessors would have imagined over 30 years ago.
The Steelers share many of the core values that Hillfoot embrace as their mantra for driving their business forward. We've instantly struck a tremendous affinity with Hillfoot Steel and that is underpinned by the direction of their senior management team of Craig James, Barry Akers and Ben Martin. The Steelers look forward to many exciting games in your company.” Tony Smith, Managing Director
Want to catch some of the Steelers vibe? Check out their website for community news and a full list of matches.