Major Sponsorships
Since 1991, the company has become a large supporter of athletics, sponsoring the United States and Canadian Olympic teams, and launching a program which offered employment to athletes that accommodates their training and competition schedules. The Home Depot ceased to be a sponsor of the Canadian Olympic Team in 2005.
Company co-founder Blank also purchased the Atlanta Falcons franchise of the National Football League in February 2002. The Home Depot is also the primary sponsor of the 2003 NASCARSprint Cup Series Champion Matt Kenseth of Joe Gibbs Racing in a Toyota Camry. Before Kenseth, it was the sponsor of 2009 Sprint Cup Series ROTY Joey Logano, and of 3-time Cup Champion Tony Stewart since his rookie year; in 2009 Tony left Joe Gibbs Racing to own half of Stewart Haas Racing. The Home Depot is also the title sponsor of The Home Depot Center in Carson, California, home to both the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA of (Major League Soccer), and Los Angeles Riptide (Major League Lacrosse), and many past major sporting events.
In 2006, The Home Depot partnered with Duke University's Edmund T. Pratt Jr. School of Engineering to create "The Home Depot Smart Home". The smart home is a live-in laboratory for ten upper-class engineering students that allows them to immerse themselves in the work. The goal of the project is to help provide innovative solutions for the home in areas such as security and home monitoring, communications, energy efficiency, entertainment, environment and health.
In January 2007, the Home Depot became the official Home Improvement sponsor of ESPN's College Gameday.
Seventy-three percent of the Home Depot's campaign contributions went to Republican candidates in the 2005–2006 US elections. "Home Depot's PAC gives money based on a candidate's voting record, committee assignment and leadership position," said company spokesman Jerry Shields. The CEO in this period was Bob Nardelli, a friend of U.S. President George W. Bush. Nardelli hosted a garden reception/fundraiser for Bush at his Atlanta home on May 20, 2004.
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