By Paul Birdwell (paul@roaringforkagency.com)
In an age where large sports sponsorships involve a tremendous amount of work by everyone to put together successfully there was some great news this past week from the PGA Tour which saw two major tournaments receive new sponsorship commitments from their current Title Sponsors:
Quail Hollow to keep PGA Tour sponsor Wells Fargo for 5 more years, David Scott, Charlotte Observer
“In a time during which title sponsorships can be hard to come by on the PGA Tour, Charlotte’s Quail Hollow Club has received another strong shot of stability.
The tour announced Tuesday that Wells Fargo has renewed its sponsorship of Charlotte’s tour stop for five years. That means the Wells Fargo Championship will be in Charlotte through 2019 – except for 2017, when it temporarily will move to Wilmington’s Eagle Point Golf Club to accommodate the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
“We think the future is really bright for this tournament,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said of the Charlotte tournament, which is scheduled for May 1-4 this year (it will keep its date on the PGA Tour schedule).
The tournament – one of the most popular among players on tour and a consistent sellout – has been at Quail Hollow since 2003. In all but two years, it has been sponsored by Wells Fargo or its predecessor, Wachovia.
“The championship has proven to be an incredible branding asset,” said Wells Fargo chief marketing officer Jamie Moldafsky. “We’re delighted we’ll have uninterrupted continuation of one of the tour’s premiere events.”
Several PGA tournaments have struggled to retain title sponsors during recent seasons, including Hilton Head Island, S.C., Innisbrook in Tampa, Fla., and Washington’s Congressional Golf Club.
“This is a big statement for Wells Fargo and Charlotte,” said Ed Kiernan, president of the Engine Shop sports marketing agency. “The tour has lots of title sponsor (contracts) coming up and renewing in this climate has become increasingly difficult. To secure what they have in Charlotte for that length is really impressive.””
Kudos to Ed Kiernan and Engine Shop which has been putting together some very innovative sponsorship deals in the last few years.
The other event that just extended a sponsorship deal with their Title Sponsor is the Regions Tradition:
“The Champions Tour will continue to play its season-opening major championship in Birmingham, Ala., through 2018.
Regions Financial Corp. has extended title-sponsorship of the Regions Tradition, the Champions Tour announced Tuesday.
This year's $2.2 million event will be played May 15-18 at Shoal Creek, with David Frost as the defending champion. After next year's Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek, the tournament will move to nearby Greystone Golf & Country Club for 2016-18.”
The Champions Tour major Regions Tradition has been staged in the Birmingham, Alabama area under a couple of different Title Sponsors over the years and will be returning to its original “home” in 2016 the Greystone Golf & Country Club which was the site of the first inaugural…
Bruno’s Memorial Classic in 1992
Congratulations to the folks at Bruno Event Team for extending Regions Financial as the Title Sponsor of the Regions Tradition and best of luck with your great tournament into the future.
Wells Fargo Championship – www.wellsfargochampionship.com
Engine Shop Agency – www.engineshopagency.com
Regions Tradition – www.regionstradition.com
Bruno Event Team – www.brunoeventteam.com
PGA Tour – www.pgatour.com
If you have any questions about event sponsorship or venue naming rights contact the Roaring Fork Agency at:
paul@roaringforkagency.com
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