Lancashire Cricket Club Official Hotel Partner Hilton has extended its partnership with the club for a further year, while also increasing its investment to support Lancashire Thunder women’s team for the next three years.
A major part of the agreement will see Hilton provide investment to increase Lancashire Thunder’s squad of professional players to 16 – by funding four additional full-time contracts. The recipients of the contracts are set to be announced by the club in the coming days and will see Thunder lead the way with the most full-time professionals in England’s domestic women’s structure.
The No Boundaries campaign, a collaboration between Hilton and Lancashire Thunder launched in 2023 that won the Sponsorship, Sales & Marketing Award at last year’s Stadium Business Awards, will also continue under the renewed partnership. The campaign will continue to focus on breaking down barriers and offering the best possible support to the Thunder playing squad and pathway system, so they can stay at the top of their game.
So far, the No Boundaries campaign has created bespoke education and support packages, in addition to increased access to a sports doctor and nutritionist who specialise in the health of female athletes.
Work was recently completed to extend the on-site Hilton Garden Inn Manchester at Emirates Old Trafford, which has been open since 2017, by a further 100 bedrooms taking the occupancy to 250 bedrooms and concluding the venue’s redevelopment over the last decade.
For the third year running, Hilton was the headline sponsor of Lancashire Cricket and Thunder’s joint pre-season tour to Dubai and Bangalore which took place in March. The global hospitality company are also the new front of shirt sponsors on the Lancashire Thunder playing shirt, which was launched last month and worn for the first time during pre-season.
Stijn Bastiaens, VP marketing and loyalty Europe, Middle East and Africa, Hilton said: “We are so proud to continue our partnership with Lancashire Cricket and to be able to increase our support to the Lancashire Thunder team. We are thrilled to see the progress the team has made over the last few years. At Hilton, we are committed to building a more inclusive society for our guests, team members, partners and the communities in which we operate in, which is why we have enhanced our sponsorship, allowing Thunder to stay at the top of their game.”
Daniel Gidney, chief executive of Lancashire Cricket, added: “We are delighted to have extended our flagship partnership with Hilton and are incredibly excited by the increased funding they are providing to support our ever-growing Lancashire Thunder programme as we look to continue to lead the way in the women’s domestic game and grow women’s cricket across the North West.
“After completing the extension of the Hilton Garden Inn Manchester at Emirates Old Trafford’s, we are really pleased that we will be working together with Hilton for the next three years as they continue to support our Men’s and Women’s squads on the field.”
“The four additional contracts being funded by Hilton will increase Thunder’s squad to 16 professional players – currently the largest amongst the eight regions – and the benefit that this will have to the players themselves, and to new head coach Chris Read, can’t be understated, as four more members of the squad are able to train and dedicate their time to cricket knowing they are secure financially.”
