(WFLA) – Tampa Bay Lightning fans weren’t happy Friday when towels for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ supporters listed Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key as apparent supporters. The Lightning and Penguins met in Pittsburgh for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final.

WFLA’s Adrienne Pedersen spoke to Tom McMillan, the Vice President of Communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins, over the phone Saturday morning. He says Bradenton sponsors the Penguins all year. He believes the towels were used in the playoff game because so many people in Pittsburgh travel to Florida.

“We see Bradenton commercials all the time here,” McMillan said. “This is nothing unusual.”

He was surprised to find out the social media storm the towels caused. When asked if the people at Visit Bradenton knew the towels would be used for Friday’s game he said, “I can’t imagine they wouldn’t know.”

The Penguins’ Twitter account even posted: “We’re gold rushing into the Eastern Conference Final! Shoutout to @VisitBradenton for the rally towels!”

The Bradenton area released a statement after the Lightning win to clarify the situation.

It reads:

“On May 13, 2016, the Pittsburgh Penguins released a statement on Twitter thanking the Bradenton, Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key Area for sponsored promotional materials. The Bradenton Area Convention & Visitors Bureau has released a statement to the Tampa Bay community clarifying the purpose of these promotion items. “As a destination, we have and will continue to support the Tampa Bay Lightning through our annual marketing initiatives and wish both teams the best of luck in the Eastern Conference Finals,” said Elliott Falcione, Executive Director of the Bradenton Area CVB. The Bradenton Area holds deep roots to the Pittsburgh community being the Spring Training destination for the Pittsburgh Pirates and their sister city. The destination currently has marketing campaigns with multiple Pittsburgh sporting teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Penguins. Due to these and other initiatives, visitation to the destination from the Pittsburgh area has increased by 37 percent. The destination also holds a larger advertising buy with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an official partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Amalie Arena. Throughout the state of Florida, it is common for destination marketing organizations to have out-of-state partnerships through sports marketing initiatives, including major league teams. ‘It’s a great way to get our brand in front of a demographic that meshes with our visitor profile,’ Falcione explained. ‘It’s about economic development for our region, the entire region which includes Tampa.'”

The Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau representative said in an email to Adrienne Pedersen: