PGA Tour Reno-Tahoe Open Seeks Title Sponsor After RED Opts Out

By Jon Show, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

RED Development Not Picking Up One-Year Option To Title Sponsor '10 Reno-Tahoe Open

The PGA Tour Reno-Tahoe Open is once again in the market for a naming-rights sponsor after RED Development opted not to pick up a one-year option to title sponsor the event in '10. The event the last two years had been called the Legends Reno-Tahoe Open after one of the company’s real estate ventures. A tournament official said organizers were hopeful a new sponsor or group of sponsors could be found. "It would be great to have a title sponsor," said tournament board member Jana Smoley. "If it’s a presenting sponsor, we’ll do that, and if it’s a blend or group of sponsors, we’ll do that." The tournament received $800,000 a year from RED Development. The event, backed by a group of local sponsors spending in the high-five to low-six figures annually, has only had a title sponsor in two of its 11 years. There are two other tournaments on the '10 schedule, released yesterday by the PGA Tour, that were previously reported as not having title sponsors -- the Bob Hope Classic and the Century Club of San Diego Invitational. The Reno-Tahoe Open had been played the same week as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but will move to a new date in '10 opposite the British Open.