The Texas Rangers and Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. (NTU) today announced a three-year sponsorship agreement that begins immediately. “The Texas Rangers look forward to a great and productive partnership with NTU”, said Rangers Executive Vice President, Business Partnerships and Development Joe Januszewski. “Yu Darvish has made a huge contribution to the Rangers organization over the last two years, and we appreciate the support of NTU as we go forward.” The partnership includes exclusivity for the media backdrop used by the Rangers in the interview room during spring training in Surprise, Ariz. NTU will also have the exclusivity for the media backdrop for all formal press conferences with Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish and any other Japanese players on the team during the regular season, both home and road. No price was revealed for the transaction.
The new media backdrop is already in place in the interview room in Surprise, according to the Rangers. The sponsorship also includes home plate static signage at Globe Life Park in Arlington. In Surprise, Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. will have signage in the bullpens and main practice field at the Rangers complex and home plate rotational signage for all Rangers spring training games at Surprise Stadium. Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc. is the United States subsidiary of Toyo Tire and Rubber Co. Ltd., which is based in Japan. The U.S. subsidiary is based in Cypress, Calif. The decision to partner with the Texas Rangers was based partly on NTU’s North American sales strategy, which is targeting the substantial light and pick-up truck market in Texas. In addition, as a Japanese-based company, NTU also wanted to support the major league players who are natives of Japan, according to a Rangers news release.