THE driving force behind the Basingstoke Bison is once again smart of Basingstoke, after they teamed up with the Herd for the third year running, as part of their ongoing sponsorship to the club.

In exchange for a smart for their star player Tomas Karpov, the Houndmills based business have their logo on the player’s shirts and advertising around the Basingstoke Arena.

As part of a new incentive, the team at smart are also offering current Bison season ticket holders a new season ticket if they buy a new smart car from the Basingstoke retailer.

Bison head coach Doug Sheppard said: “We are proud to have the support of smart of Basingstoke, they are a great business to work with and we enjoy having them as one of our sponsors.”

Keith Jackman, dealer principal at smart of Basingstoke said: “We are delighted to be teaming up with Basingstoke Bison for another year running. The Bison are really involved within the local community have fantastic engagement from their supporters, it’s really great to be a part of this.

“We wish the team every success this season.”