PEORIA, Ill. – Central Illinois’ largest medical group is now one of Peoria City’s biggest supporters.
On Tuesday, OSF HealthCare and Peoria City Soccer announced a two-year primary sponsorship deal. The deal includes the OSF logo across the chest on the Peoria City uniform kits, athletic trainers supplied by OSF for the club, and free match tickets for the families of patients at OSF Children’s Hospital.
Peoria City also announced OSF HealthCare Employee Appreciation Night for the June 20th match against Sunflower State FC. Season ticket holders will also receive a promotion item on the home opener on May 23rd against the Des Moines Menace, which will be a foam carp-shaped hat, an homage to the team’s nickname.
Peoria City President Jim DeRose says the deal came together after numerous conversations, where each side realized they had a similar vision.
“When we founded the club, the whole idea was to be a community based, affordable, accessibility, with a strong influence on community service and philanthropy. And there can be no better partner in the community than OSF and what they stand for,” DeRose said.
OSF CEO Michelle Conger is excited by the sponsorship because she’s a soccer fan herself. And she notes that seeing Peoria City be successful can benefit them and the region.
“It helps for a lot of the people we’re recruiting to Peoria, they’re really interested in soccer, they’re interested for their children, really interested in all of our mission partners being connected to that,” Conger said.
Peoria City players will also make visits to the Children’s Hospital as part of the partnership.
DeRose says the partnership can also lead to a bigger future for Peoria City. He says being with OSF can help Peoria City take a step to the next level, which could include being a fully professional soccer club and moving up a league level.
