Upper Deck to Serve as title Sponsor in NHL’s Winter Classic

Upper Deck will be sponsoring several elements of the 2010 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which is set to take place on Jan. 1, 2010, at Boston’s Fenway Park. The League’s annual outdoor game, now in its third year, will feature the host Boston Bruins taking on the Philadelphia Flyers. As the NHL’s exclusive hockey card manufacturer, Upper Deck will have a major presence surrounding the event.

“We are extremely excited to be a part of this annual event,” said Josh Zusman, Upper Deck’s hockey brand manager. “We’ve got some fun, interactive elements to share with hockey fans this time around as well as a personalized-card station where hockey buffs can get their pictures taken on a unique, event-branded Upper Deck trading card.”

What’s more, special cello-wrapped promotional packs featuring three different “NHL Winter Classic” insert cards from Upper Deck’s 2009-10 MVP Hockey launch – which hit store shelves last week – will be included inside collectible seat cushions throughout the venue. Ticket holders for the event will receive these automatically. And in conjunction with Woburn, Mass.-based distributor Sports Images, Upper Deck will be securing privileges for a pair of lucky youngsters to serve as designated “stick kids” for the teams during the New Year’s Eve practice the day before the actual game.

In addition to in-stadium branding and its free-of-charge P-Card station, which will be set up in the NHL Spectator Plaza adjacent to Yawkey Way right outside of Fenway, Upper Deck will have several oversized cards measuring 7 feet high by 5 feet wide of many of the competing players on display. Bruins blowups include Marc Savard, Blake Wheeler, Zdeno Chara, Milan Lucic and David Krejci, while Flyers blowups will feature Jeff Carter, Daniel Briere, Chris Pronger, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne.

Next month’s clash is already sold out as more than 37,000 hockey enthusiasts will be on hand to fill Fenway’s seating capacity.