Round-Trip Flight To London: United Re-Ups With USOC Through 2012

By Tripp Mickle, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

United Airlines has agreed to renew its sponsorship of the U.S. Olympic Team, signing an agreement to be the official airline of the USOC for the 2009-12 quadrennial. Sources valued the deal supplier level deal is valued in the $10M range over the period of the contract. United has been a partner of the USOC's since '80. The organization lent support to the airline in '06 when it was bidding for the first and, at the time, only non-stop flight between DC and Beijing. United went onto win that route. The deal gives the USOC another partner with headquarters in Chicago, which is bidding for the 2016 Olympics. McDonald's, an IOC and USOC partner, also is headquartered there. The agreement caps a string of renewals announced by the organization during the Beijing Games. Allstate and 24 Hour Fitness also announced renewals during that period, joining Nike, Hilton Hotels and Anheuser-Busch in extending partnerships with the USOC through 2012. The USOC still has partner-level renewals to negotiate with Bank of America, The Home Depot and AT&T before the end of the year, and a supplier-level deal with Kellogg's.