IL-based farming equipment manufacturer John Deere &
Co. and the PGA Tour "have started a unique nine-year
partnership," that includes title sponsorship of last week's
Quad City event through 2006 and the construction of a TPC
course near Deere Run, according to Scott Kauffman of
GOLFWEEK. Deere Manager of Event Marketing Clair Peterson:
"We've learned from NASCAR that relationship building and
brand building from an event standpoint is great." Deere
will gain exposure via CBS's coverage of the PGA Tour stop,
and Deere will also lease 385 acres of "company-owned land -
- for $1 a year -- near its headquarters ... for ongoing
construction" of the TPC at Deere Run. Deere also becomes
the official golf course equipment supplier of the PGA Tour,
under which the Tour will lease Deere golf, turf and
construction equipment "at each of the Tour's 25 owned-and-
operated TPC courses." The nine-year deal "revolves around
three consecutive three-year leases valued at more than"
$10M each and underwritten by John Deere Credit Co.
(GOLFWEEK, 7/24). Peterson said that the deal's "payoff
comes from the company's increased exposure within the
course maintenance market," with each TPC course deal worth
between $500,000-$750,000 (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 7/26).
