The Salt Lake Organizing Committee's (SLOC) management
team last week outlined for its Board of Directors the
projects plans for the next 12 months, according to Mike
Gorrell of the SALT LAKE TRIBUNE. Primary among them is
fund raising, and Gorrell wrote, "How much SLOC raises with
its marketing partner, the [USOC], determines how elaborate
or bare-boned the 2002 Games will be." Gorrell reports that
eight sponsorship deals are "nearly in place" for national-
level sponsors, with "companies like US WEST, Delta Air
Lines, General Motors and Home Depot." The first
sponsorship announcement is scheduled for July 25 and one
year from now, SLOC officials "figure they will have"
sponsor commitments for $200M. Stirling also plans to have
half of the $35M expected from licensing agreements
"secured" by then (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 7/14).
IMAGE BUILDING: On August 30, the SLOC will unveil its
new logo, "triggering the concurrent release of 50 to 60
merchandise items ranging from T-shirts and lapel pins to
educational materials." The SLOC's mascot will be revealed
during Nagano's closing ceremony and Salt Lake organizers
"are trying to make sure their mascot goes over better" than
Atlanta's Izzy. SLOC President Tom Welch: "We can't afford
to make a mistake coming out with the wrong mascot." Welch
added that the mascot and other promotions must "build the
image of who we are as a community, a people and an
Organizing Committee" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 7/14).
