The IOC will meet today with its 11 TOP sponsors and
members of the USOC in N.Y., according to Kamon Simpson of
the Colorado Springs GAZETTE. IOC officials will give a
"detailed account" of reforms made during recent meetings in
Lausanne, Switzerland. OPUS President John Krimsky, noting
that the USOC was not present the last time the IOC met with
sponsors in February said, "The IOC loses a great deal of
credibility if the USOC is not present. We've made that
crystal clear to them." While sponsors may ask about the
U.S. Senate Commerce Committee's upcoming hearings in April,
Krimsky said that "he couldn't assure the sponsors of what
will happen at the Senate hearing," but he doesn't expect
measures affecting tax deductions "to be done prematurely,
not until the IOC has had a chance to enact reforms" (Kamon
Simpson, Colorado Springs GAZETTE, 3/30).
OLYMPIC SPONSORSHIP NOTES: BRANDWEEK's Terry Lefton
reports that Johnson & Johnson has "abandoned plans for an
Olympic sponsorship it had been pursuing for more than a
year." Industry sources cited Johnson's "concerns about
cost and the ability to coordinate a multi-brand
sponsorship, along with being somewhat spooked" by the Salt
Lake City bid scandal (BRANDWEEK, 3/29 issue).....Mizuno has
become an equipment provider for the Sydney 2000 Games in a
deal valued at around $3.16M (KYODO NEWS, 3/29).
