DENVER, Oct. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, LLC ("KSE") today announced that Ball's infinitely recyclable aluminum cup will soon be available to visitors at KSE's Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. This is the first major professional sports arena to introduce the aluminum cups at full scale, debuting during the NBA's Denver Nuggets' home opener against the Phoenix Suns on Friday, Oct. 25.
Ball, a leader in cutting-edge, sustainable aluminum beverage packaging, designed the lightweight aluminum cups in response to growing consumer preference for more sustainable products. KSE's Pepsi Center is also home to the NHL's Colorado Avalanche and the NLL's Colorado Mammoth, expanding the aluminum cups offering to professional basketball, hockey and lacrosse fans, as well as concertgoers.
"We're proud to team up with KSE to bring sports fans at Pepsi Center a sustainable beverage cup option and grow this offering across sports venues in the U.S.," said John A. Hayes, Ball's chairman, president and chief executive officer. "As a premier sports and entertainment destination in Denver, Pepsi Center is making a meaningful difference on promoting sustainability in its industry. At Ball, we've seen lot of excitement for the aluminum cup since launch, and we look forward to NBA, NHL and NLL fans in Denver experiencing them for the first time."
Ball and KSE hope that the introduction of the aluminum cup will inspire good recycling habits. The collaboration between the two Denver-based companies is part of Ball's recently launched pilot program, which will produce a limited supply of aluminum cups through 2020 to meet current customer demand from major sports and entertainment venues seeking to replace plastic cups. The aluminum cups, which will be used at all Pepsi Center events for draft soda and beer products, is a milestone for KSE as it seeks to reduce plastic use and promote sustainability in its venues.
"KSE and the Pepsi Center have prioritized sustainability efforts in recent years, which have brought improvements around limiting energy use and consumption, and enhancing our recycling opportunities is a natural continuation of these efforts," said Jim Martin, President and CEO of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. "Introducing the aluminum cup option provides a more sustainable gameday and event experience for our fans and we are thrilled to be the first professional sports arena to lead this change."
Infinitely recyclable and economically valuable, aluminum is the most sustainable beverage packaging material, and like aluminum cans, aluminum cups can be easily recycled. In fact, 75 percent of the aluminum ever produced is still in use today. In addition to its sustainability and recycling strengths, the aluminum cup is lightweight, sturdy and cool to the touch. It also can be customized with logos and graphics.
For more information about the Ball aluminum cup, visit www.ball.com/cups. For more information about Pepsi Center, visit https://www.pepsicenter.com/.
About Ball Corporation
Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 17,500 people worldwide and reported 2018 net sales of $11.6 billion. For more information, visit www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.
About Kroenke Sports & Entertainment
Denver-based Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE) is one of the world's leading ownership, entertainment and management groups. As owners and operators of Pepsi Center, the Paramount Theatre, Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Colorado Avalanche (NHL), Denver Nuggets (NBA), Colorado Mammoth (NLL) and Colorado Rapids (MLS), KSE's sports and entertainment assets are second to none. Additional properties under KSE's umbrella include Altitude Sports & Entertainment, a 24-hour regional television network; Altitude Authentics, the company's official retail provider; and Altitude Tickets, the official ticketing provider for KSE teams and venues.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely," "positions" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials and logistics; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; footprint adjustments and other manufacturing changes, including the startup of new facilities and lines; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation; power and supply chain interruptions; potential delays and tariffs related to the U.K's departure from the EU; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; and tariffs, trade actions, or other governmental actions in any country affecting goods produced by us or in our supply chain, including imported raw materials, such as pursuant to Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act of 1962 or Section 301 of Trade Act of 1974; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: the extent to which sustainability-related opportunities arise and can be capitalized upon; changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including the U.S. government elections, budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful joint ventures, acquisitions and divestitures, including with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition, its integration, the associated divestiture, and their effects on our operating results and business generally.
SOURCE Ball Corporation
