The 10-year retail and sponsorship agreement announced Monday between Canadian Tire and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment will have local impact: Next year the retailer will take over the Real Sports apparel store at Maple Leaf Square and make it Sport Chek’s flagship location.

And the deal will have national scope, with Canadian Tire and Sport Chek hoping to capitalize on the Raptors’ growing popularity in Canadian markets.

But MLSE president Tim Leiweke says the company’s vision in making this deal is global.

It’s the first major corporate transaction MLSE has completed since Leiweke took over in late June, and he says it heralds a shift in the company’s goals. Instead of mere sponsorships, MLSE is pursuing multiplatform partnerships, which Leiweke thinks can turn its sports teams into global brands.

“The Leafs have a fan base for 4 million people worldwide — that’s the Leafs Nation,” Leiweke said. “We’re beginning to change the way we think …We have to take on a bigger mantle, and I want the Leafs to be seen like the (Dallas) Cowboys and the (New York) Yankees.”

If MLSE plans to make the Leafs into hockey’s version of Manchester United, a few more championship banners would help. But tepid results on the field don’t necessarily prevent a team from becoming a brand that transcends borders.

The Dallas Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl since the 1995 NFL season, but are worth a league-high $2.3 billion (U.S.) thanks to aggressive marketing, a big-spending owner, and a fan base that remembers the team’s past success.

“We have the Cowboy factor,” owner Jerry Jones told the New York Times. “When you look at cities, we have a great following there. We’re the No.1 television team there is.”

But taking the Leafs global presents a different challenge, says Burlington-based sports marketing consultant Keith McIntyre.

He points out that Manchester United and the Yankees can build worldwide followings because both soccer and baseball are popular in Latin America and Asia.

“The growth of hockey is coming (but) I don’t see that happening in the immediate future,” says McIntyre, president of the KMAC Group. “But it allows MLSE to demonstrate they can find innovative ways to bring sponsorship to life if somebody is looking to grow in Europe and hockey is a player there.”

In the short term, both MLSE and Canadian Tire hope their partnership will help the Raptors conquer Canada.

The new arrangement will include boutiques within selected Canadian Tire stores selling apparel from MLSE teams. It also includes exclusive video content produced by MLSE and published on Sport Chek websites and in interactive displays at Sport Chek stores.

Michael Medline, president of Canadian Tire Sports, said the company plans a large expansion of Sport Chek’s retail space in the GTA and across Canada, and mentioned basketball’s growth as a way to tap into an emerging market.

“This country is going to be taken over by basketball,” Medline said, mentioning that the probable top pick in the 2014 NBA draft, Andrew Wiggins, is Canadian. “With one team across the country, it’s going to be really powerful.”

Next year, Sport Chek will take over Real Sports apparel, expand it from its current 8,500 square feet and reopen it in the summer of 2014.

McIntyre also says betting big on sports gives Canadian Tire a powerful counter to rival retailers such as Target, which has opened nearly 40 stores in Ontario this year.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“Canadian Tire has taken a totally unique position: ‘We’re going back to the grassroots and we’re going to own sports in this country,’ ” he said. “They’re really solidifying their position as an authentic retailer. This makes great sense because it carves out a distinct point of difference.”

Leiweke says the partnership reflects a change in the company’s off-the-field focus, moving from standard corporate sponsorships to more comprehensive partnerships integrating retail, signage and media content.

Read more about: