In the weeks leading up to the start of Hearts of Pine’s home opener this month, it seemed like every time I opened a social media app, another business was announcing its partnership with the beloved Portland soccer team.

Portland Power Yoga rolled out a mat with a Hearts logo. Harbor Fish Market announced discounts on game days for ticket holders or anyone wearing Hearts of Pine apparel. For every goal scored, Oakhurst Dairy pledged to make a donation to the Hearts of Pine Foundation, which supports community soccer programs.

Additional businesses tried to appeal to soccer fans with match-day marketing: Get Hearts-branded drinks at Now You’re Cooking in Bath, book a room at the Canopy hotel while you’re in Portland for the game.

Whether they’re trying to sell products to Hearts fans or just hoping to seem cool to potential new customers (see the fun video of players trying Maine foods in Hannaford’s test kitchen), all sorts of local businesses and institutions are seeking ways to associate themselves with the USL League One darling.

As the team’s popularity became apparent during its inaugural season last year, I started seeing the ripple effect it was having on the local economy — the crowds showing up to watch games at the Portland Zoo and the hard seltzer featuring the team’s logo from Après.

Business owners were taking note, too.

Before its first game at Fitzpatrick Stadium, the Hearts had 35 partners, including L.L.Bean, MaineHealth and the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein. Since then, the list has more than doubled and continues to broaden in scope, with Tom’s of Maine becoming the official personal care partner and the University of Southern Maine the exclusive education partner.

“If a local business ties itself to a brand that’s hot and in demand, that’s definitely going to drive business,” said Connor Blake, director of the Center for Sport and Business Innovation at the University of New England.

Blake said it seems the Hearts are partnering with companies that fit their values, and, in turn, those businesses will reach customers they might not have otherwise.

Town & Country Federal Credit Union, which gives clients who open a youth rewards checking account a chance to win tickets to bring a kid to a game, has seen an increase in signups since starting the program last season.

“By tapping into the excitement surrounding the Hearts, we are starting to introduce financial education to new audiences and help more young people build the tools and confidence they need for strong financial futures,” said president and CEO David Libby.

Harbor Fish Market already has had people come into its Portland and Scarborough stores wearing navy and green and looking for their discounts, said Henry Gleason, an assistant wholesale manager for the company, whose partnership came out of employees’ enthusiasm for the team.

“It’s something really cool that they built, and we just wanted to be part of that,” he said.

For the Hearts, having local companies with established reputations looking to associate themselves with the team is “a great stamp of approval,” said club president Kevin Schohl.

The value of partnerships starts at $25,000 and gets into the six-figure range, he said, though, at the lower level, that’s often represented by trade deals rather than cash changing hands. Portland Japanese restaurant Yosaku, for example, provides bento boxes to players and, in exchange, gets a sign at the stadium and mentions on social media and in email communications.

Many of these partnerships came out of the club’s needs, Schohl said, with the Hearts approaching businesses to see if they’d provide their products or services at lower costs for publicity in return.

Others have reached out to the team, whether they were caught up in the anticipation of the first season or have seen the sensation it’s become and wanted in on the action.

“It’s no secret that they have been wildly successful, and there’s a ton of energy around it,” said Lilly Mullen, CEO of Portland-based Springer’s Jewelers.

Springer’s started considering how the company could get involved with the team while witnessing the feverish first season, she said, but didn’t think about being a top-level partner until getting into talks that revealed just how much they had in common, including their mutual commitment to authenticity and passion for Portland.

As the team’s official timekeeper, Springer’s gets mentioned when the clock does in games, but Mullen said she’s most excited about opportunities to interact with fans, including at “watch” parties, where they’ll play on the two meanings of the word by giving away timepieces among other promotional items.

Springer’s is also planning to create a jewelry line that will allow fans to display their devotion to the team in a more subtle way than wearing a jersey. It’s already launched a higher-end collection featuring ruby hearts and diamonds.

Allagash Brewing Co., which got involved with the Hearts as soon as possible and sells its beer at home games, also created a product in collaboration with the team and can attest to the payoff.

Kickabout Lager, which comes in a navy-and-green-striped can, has “exceeded our expectations across the board, from wholesale orders to retail scan data to our own tasting room, where it’s become one of our fastest-selling beers since its launch last year,” said Jeff Pillet-Shore, marketing director for the Portland brewery.

Thinking about the myriad ways the popularity of this team may be translating into profits for Maine businesses is a bit mind-boggling, but we might have a better grasp on it soon: The city is expecting to have results this summer from a study on the economic impact of Portland’s minor league sports teams, said city spokesperson Jessica Grondin.

For some idea of the potential impact, we can look to a report that UNE released last month showing that the Maine Mariners are responsible for infusing at least $6.1 million into the city in its 2024-’25 season, including through restaurant and bar tabs, hotel stays and short-term rentals. That figure jumps to $12.4 million when you factor in how those dollars are recirculated, like when the server uses his tip from a hockey fan to then go get a haircut, Blake said.

The Hearts of Pine hadn’t even started playing when Sports Business Journal named Portland the No. 1 minor league sports market in 2024, and you have to imagine the soccer team’s success will solidify that.

Yet there’s still one glaring opportunity for a business to take advantage of it all.

I happened to be driving through town before the start of the Hearts’ home opener and saw a group of people who looked like they were headed to the game crossing the street from Bayside to Deering Oaks, probably coming from the breweries, I figured.

With the soccer stadium in walking distance to the Sea Dogs’ Hadlock Field and the Portland Expo where the Maine Celtics play, how has no one opened a sports bar nearby?

Perhaps the women behind The Sports Bra will fix that.