Pepsi Porch Opens at New York Mets New Home

Pepsi and Gatorade have signed a multiyear marketing and promotional partnership with the New York Mets and their new home, Citi Field.

Pepsi’s “signature partner” status makes Pepsi the official soft drink of the Mets and Gatorade the team’s official sports drink. Other PepsiCo brands will also reap benefits of the deal, including Aquafina, Mountain Dew and Sierra Mist.

A unique aspect of the agreement let’s Pepsi brand the 1,284-seat area in right field that extends over the playing field as the “Pepsi Porch” easily identified by a 37-foot by 89-foot Pepsi sign placed on top of the seating area. The sign will face into the ballpark and also be visible from downtown Flushing and the nearby highways and mass transit lines, PepsiCo said.

The company said fans seated in the area will be “immersed” in a Mets and Pepsi experience with special entertainment programming broadcast to fans at the game, as well as those at home watching the games on SNY.

The Pepsi Party Patrol, a group of 12 brand reps that have be in action at Mets’ games since 2001, will run trivia contests while fans are seated in the stands and give away T-shirts.

The players will benefit from the deal too. Gatorade “Hydration Stations” will be located in the dugouts and the bullpens providing branded cups, coolers, ice chests and towels to the teams.

Pepsi branding will also be seen on rotational signage at home plate and other locations throughout the park. The Mets will incorporate Pepsi into its marketing and media assets, including Mets publications and in-game programming features, and provide the opportunity to host a Pepsi promotional day at Citi Field, and the rights to the use of the Mets logo for promotions and sweepstakes.

The new ballpark officially opens April 13.

“The new Mets’ home is a premier facility that is already a top attraction in New York and we couldn’t be happier to have a visible presence there,” said Dave Burwick, SVP and CMO, PepsiCo North America Beverages. “We look forward to continuing the successful partnership we have enjoyed with the Mets over the last several years and to bringing the fans unique experiences at the ballpark.”

Pepsi’s promotional rights will extend to the Mets’ minor league affiliates at Tradition Field (Port St. Lucie, FL, home of Mets Spring Training and the St. Lucie Mets) and KeySpan Park (Coney Island, NY, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones).