How Sports Embraces Cheese Sponsorships

Tillamook made a melty splash last year becoming the kit sponsor for the Portland Timbers. Cabot has a new creamy deal with the Boston Red Sox that posts a grilled cheese stand at Fenway Park, and then there’s Sargento, embracing three major Wisconsin professional teams. It’s all part of cheese’s momentum in the world of sports and stadiums.

“The live sports experience has evolved significantly in recent years, with improvements to the culinary offering representing one of the biggest evolutions across the board,” Harry Poole, senior vice president of brand marketing at Excel Sports Management, tells me. “By creating the right culinary environment in-stadium, teams will have more commercial opportunity within that space, while also fostering a stronger environment for fans to enjoy their time.”

Poole says the brands with the best opportunity to connect to fans are the one that enhance the experience. “Big cheese has certainly found their niche across sports,” he says. “The common thread between all those deals is their efforts to improve the culinary experience, compared to more traditional stadium food.”

Sports food is growing in momentum, from partnerships with local restaurants to the rise of wine to the power of cheddar (and mozzarella, provolone, Gouda and pepper jack). How has cheese found its way?

Tillamook in Portland

First came the baby loaf on display inside Portland’s Providence Park, home of the Timbers, an oversized replica of Tillamook Creamery’s block of cheddar sold across the country. That sponsorship began in 2014 and expanded into branded concessions, taking a major leap in 2024 when Tillamook, based on the Oregon Coast, became the kit sponsor of the Timbers.

“When the Timbers began looking for a new jersey sponsor, our consumer relations and social media teams received dozens upon dozens of comments from fans suggesting—in some cases demanding—that Tillamook become the new sponsor, which led to us having a serious conversation with the Timbers,” Kate Boltin, senior vice president of brand and marketing for Tillamook, tells me. “As two organizations with roots in the Pacific Northwest, we view our partnership as another way to share our pride with the local fans and the community we all share in.

“And as a matter of business, this investment is proving to help us gain exposure for the Tillamook brand across the country with food lovers looking for high quality dairy.”

The largest sponsorship Tillamook, which recently won the title of “Best Cheddar in the World,” has signed to date is meant to deepen relationships with fans in Oregon but give the brand exposure nationwide. Inside the venue, Tillamook continues to run giveaways, offer co-branded gear—one scarf features a grilled cheese sandwich with a massive melted cheese pull—and embrace concession stand offerings with everything from ice cream sandwiches to a special Tillamook Mac & Cheese in the Tillamook Melt stand.

Through all the growth, that baby loaf still has a place in Providence Park, now an LED sign that “ages” as the Timbers score goals, moving from medium cheddar to sharp to extra sharp, and even ice cream if the game gets really goal-heavy.

Cabot in Boston

Venture down Jersey Street at Fenway Park and you’ll stroll right up to the Cabot Creamery concession stand featuring a lineup of grilled cheese sandwiches featuring the Vermont creamery’s sharp cheddar, pepper jack and American cheeses.

“There has been a mix of surprise and delight with this partnership,” Craig Gile, national food service sales director at Cabot Creamery and certified cheese professional, tells me. He says fans have been lining up to try the offerings—Cabot’s products are also used throughout the park to top burgers and elevate other concession dishes—but the grilled cheese stand, which includes enhancements such as tomato, bacon and pulled pork, has been a “grand slam opportunity.” So far, the Pimento Grilled Cheese has been “hitting it out of the park.”

Along with the concessions stand, additional Cabot Creamery signage appears inside the ballpark and the brand’s Seriously Sharp mascot will make appearances throughout the season.

“Baseball stadiums like Fenway have been a gathering place for generations of fans,” Gile says. “Cheese is often at the center of gatherings since it complements and enhances so many dishes. When you’re watching a ball game, you want something that’s really delicious and convenient. Cheese is the ultimate comfort food making it a home run addition to the stadium experience.”

Sargento in Wisconsin

With all the growing cheese-in-sports elements from the West Coast to the East Coast, the concept was really born in Wisconsin—no surprise for cheese fans—when Sargento became the official cheese of the Green Bay Packers in 2003, home of the cheeseheads.

Sargento kicked off the sponsorship with a philanthropic component, donating to hunger relief in the state—Sargento has now donated $1.9 million as part of the program with the Packers—so as Sargento became the official cheese of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2013 and the the Milwaukee Bucks in 2018, each partnership featured another philanthropic element.

The Wisconsin-based cheese brand shows up differently in each venue, with the Brewers dugout prominently featuring the Sargento logo and for every double that’s hit the brand’s special “Double Helping for Hunger” graphic appears on the big screen. When the Packers score a touchdown, the announcer highlights the brand’s “Touchdowns for Hunger” program, and when the Bucs win the opening tipoff, it triggers an LED ribbon display highlighting “Tip-off for Homes.”

Throughout the year, Sargento has additional activations, such as fans receiving “Chantlers”—cheese antlers—at a Bucks game on a national cheese day and a Swissconsin Night on National Swiss Cheese Day that featured a cheese curd chili dog on the menu.

At all three venues, Sargento serves a fried cheese curd not available at retail. Brewers fans can also grab a Sargento Gouda burger or specialty macaroni and cheese.

“As midwestern sports fans and Wisconsinites, we know that cheese makes meals and snacks more exiting—from handheld sandwiches and hot dogs to spicy nachos and tailgating—cheese pulls it all together,” a Sargento spokesperson tells me. As more Americans eat cheese—the average American eats 42 pounds of cheese annually, a 10-pound increase since 2000, according to the International Dairy Foods Association—Wisconsin plays a key role in that growth. The city of Plymouth, Wisconsin, home of Sargento, is alone responsible for 14% of all cheese distributed in the country.

“It is no surprise,” the spokesperson says, “that cheese is such a star when it comes to dining and that includes the stadium experience.”

Cooper in Philadelphia

Philadelphia-based Cooper cheese made its connection to the city official in 2025 by becoming the official cheese of the Philadelphia Union of the MLS, Subaru Park and WSFS Bank Sportsplex (along with sponsoring Eagles’ cornerback Cooper DeJean). And it means Cooper is featured throughout Subaru Park, from the cheesesteaks to the smash burgers to the macaroni and cheese.

Along with LED signage throughout the stadium and at the Union Yards Grill, a large tailgate and beer garden space across from Subaru Park, and occasional fan giveaways, Cooper cheese is readily available across the site.

The brand’s sharp white American cheese is the key product throughout the venue but expect to see products aplenty. “This partnership is important to the Cooper cheese brand because we both share a passion to celebrating our ties to the Philadelphia market,” Michelle Spoerl, brand manager of Cooper cheese, tells me. “We are excited that our fans will be able to create lasting memories as they dine, socialize and simply have fun.”

Galbani in Buffalo

The Buffalo Bills have had an official cheese since 2022, partnering with Galbani, a hometown cheese brand manufactured in Buffalo by Lactlis American Group. The plant on Buffalo’s South Park Avenue produces ricotta, mozzarella and provolone, so pizzas inside Highmark Stadium are made with Galbani mozzarella. The brand’s cheese has been integrated into the entire stadium concession menu, including meatball subs and meat and cheese boards, a spokesperson for the Bills tells me.

Continued localization of stadium culinary programs across the country give brands an opportunity. “More stadiums are offering a more elevated, premium culinary experience to fans that demand better quality on gameday,” Poole says. “An improved culinary experience helps keep fans engaged and often serves as a user-generated content machine on social.” That means fans can embrace the local melty cheese goodness across the nation’s sports stadiums.