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MLS Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake Partners with Purple

July 12, 2018 - Major League Soccer (MLS)
Real Salt Lake News Release


HERRIMAN, Utah - Real Salt Lake (RSL) today announced a partnership with Purple Innovation, LLC (NASDAQ: PRPL) ("Purple"), the Utah-based comfort technology company, to supply the new $78-million Zions Bank Real Academy with more than 120 Purple® mattresses, bamboo-based sheets and mattress protectors for the club's U.S. Soccer Development Academy players, as well as guests of the club in the new, state-of-the-art campus.

German Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt recently completed a week-long stay at the facility to kick off their Summer U.S. tour, which included a 1-1 draw Tuesday at Rio Tinto Stadium.

"We are elated to integrate Purple's incredible mattresses and ancillary products into our Academy," said RSL Owner Dell Loy Hansen, whose personal experience with improved sleep thanks to Purple helped expand the partnership. "The demands on these young athletes - both mentally and physically - require elite support from our infrastructure, from sleep, nutrition, and educational standpoints, on top of the world-class soccer instruction. Purple's technology is a critical factor in helping these young players actualize their potential."

An ideal partner for the rapidly-growing Real Salt Lake club pyramid, Purple is currently engaged with the RSL sports performance staff in a study that investigates the correlation between muscle recovery, athletic performance and sleep surfaces. Purple is working with the club across the men's, women's and academy levels to identify rest and recovery benefits of sleeping on the world's first "no pressure" mattress.

"Purple is excited to partner with the Zions Bank Real Academy, both as the provider of official rest-and-recovery technology and in building sleep programs for elite athletes," said Terry Pearce, Purple's CEO. "Our scientifically-engineered mattresses bring No Pressure® technology and potentially a new level of deep sleep and recovery to the young athletes' training and living at this world-class academy."

Purple's mattresses combine its proprietary Hyper-Elastic Polymer® layer with layers of supportive polyurethane foam, providing a perfect combination of softness and support in a consistently cool experience. Purple's technology has been used for more than 20 years in medical applications like hospital beds and wheelchair pads to provide patients with pressure-relief benefits.

In Herriman, the Zions Bank Real Academy amenities include a total of eight fields, including the new 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium, home of the current USL pacesetter, Real Monarchs SLC. Five "Toro Fields" at the campus are outdoor with natural grass, while the remaining three fields, including that of the 5,000-seat Zions Bank Stadium, utilize a state-of-the-art artificial surface from The Netherlands. Two full-size artificial surfaces are housed in the Zions Bank Training Center's iconic 208,000-sq.-ft. indoor structure, the largest pre-engineered freestanding building in North America. Atop this building is a solar panel array from Utah's own Auric Solar, at roughly half the size of its Rio Tinto Stadium installation.

In addition to the aforementioned items, the Zions Bank Real Academy includes the campus for a 300-student STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) charter school developed in conjunction with Jordan School District, with 77,000 square feet of classrooms and a 90-acre campus. Intended to serve as what Dell Loy Hansen calls the "Harvard of Soccer," the charter school hosts approximately 50 students from out of state, with these students boarded on-site in a satellite structure. The facility currently houses more than 40 U.S. Soccer Development Academy players on its campus, in an effort to create the pinnacle of American soccer facilities and to cultivate and develop the top talent in North American soccer.

About Purple

Purple is a leading comfort technology company, which designs and manufactures products to improve how people sleep and sit. It offers cushions, pillows, and other comfort products using its proprietary Hyper-Elastic Polymer® technology. Based in Alpine, Utah, all products are made in the USA of US and imported parts. Purple's products are focused on founders Terry and Tony Pearce's vision to improve comfort through technology. Purple continues to be a disruptor to the traditional mattress industry with its innovative products, packaging and shipping, direct-to-consumer sales, and generous trial and return policies.

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