IOC and USOC officials met with representatives of the
IOC's 11 TOP sponsors yesterday in Manhattan, and in
Colorado Springs, Kamon Simpson writes that the sponsors
"adopted a new attitude" during the meeting. Simpson: "No
longer antagonistic, now they're trying to remain optimistic
that their Olympic investment is secure." OPUS President
John Krimsky: "Of all the meetings that have taken place
with sponsors since the Olympic crisis began in late
November, this was clearly the most upbeat." Eastman Kodak
rep John LaBella said his company was "satisfied that the
IOC seems to be headed in the right direction." But "at
least" four companies asked the IOC if they could "be
compensated for potential damages stemming from the scandal,
not in terms of rebates but through added marketing perks,
such as increased access to street advertising space along
venues at the 2000 Summer Games" (CO Springs GAZETTE, 3/31).
One company official who participated in the meeting said,
"For the first time, a number of sponsors in the room said
they are having trouble selling Olympic sponsorships to
their higher-ups at the companies, and they asked the IOC
what kind of concessions they are willing to make to
compensate for the damage that has been done." IOC
Marketing Dir Michael Payne did not disclose details of any
possible concessions: "If you're going to have a
partnership, there has to be some give and take. But I
would not say that anyone was taking undue advantage"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 3/31). The AP's Larry Siddons reports that
"no ringing endorsement was issued by the sponsors ... but
there was no repeat of the sharp criticism of the last
meeting with sponsors in mid-February." IOC VP Dick Pound:
"It was a much better meeting. It didn't have the sense of
discomfort, unease and suspicion" (AP, 3/31). In Salt Lake
City, Mike Gorrell writes that IOC and USOC officials left
the meeting "feeling their message of systemic reforms and
continued public support for the Olympics was well-received
by the corporate sponsors" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 3/31).
Pound, after showing sponsors the IOC's "blueprint" for
reform: "I think they were satisfied." In N.Y., Richard
Sandomir reports that "sponsors were told not to expect the
Senate hearing to lead to the most serious changes," such as
stripping the IOC's tax-exempt status in the U.S.,
contemplated in the possible legislation. The "strategy
expressed by Olympic officials was to bide time with the
Senate by promising that the I.O.C. reform commission would
eventually make changes" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/31).
