USOC Expected To Announce New Sponsorship Deal With BP

The USOC is "expected to announce a sponsorship with worldwide energy company BP," according to Tripp Mickle of SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. Sources said that the deal is a "multiyear agreement through the 2012 London Games that will deliver low to mid-seven figures in annual revenue to the USOC." Mickle notes it is "unclear whether BP would be the USOC's exclusive petroleum partner of have a broader definition within the energy category." GE, an IOC TOP sponsor and the IOC's "exclusive provider of energy products, controls a portion of the energy category" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 2/15 issue).

STAYING TOGETHER: USA Hockey signed a renewal with partner Labatt Brewing Co. that will see the beer company remain the title sponsor of the Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships. Labatt Blue, which first became a USA Hockey sponsor in '03, also will be the overall sponsor of USA Hockey's adult programs. Terms of the agreement were not available. Sources said it was a two-year agreement valued in the low-six figures annually. The centerpiece of Labatt's sponsorship is the Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships, an annual event featuring nearly 200 teams and 1,200 players competing on Dollar Lake in Eagle River, Wisconsin. The '10 Labatt Blue/USA Hockey Pond Hockey National Championships, which were set to begin Sunday, will boast 224 teams and appearances by '80 U.S. Olympic men's hockey team members Dave Christian and Neal Broten (Mickle).

OLYMPIC HOSPITALITY: The GLOBE & MAIL's Willis & Hoffman reported event planning company Vision Co.'s Molson Canadian Hockey House, a "soccer field-sized circus tent," is the "hot ticket for waves of Canadian executives rolling into" the Vancouver Games. The Hockey House's C$99 general admission tickets are "sold out for every evening save Valentine's, and events such as the [C]$995 gold medal hockey game package are all gone." The "interest means Hockey House will be rocking, as up to 3,000 people each night listen to acts such as the Barenaked Ladies and rub elbows with NHL legends." Willis & Hoffman note Molson has "set aside 350,000 cans of beer for thirsty revellers" at the facility. Meanwhile, USOC sponsor Deloitte is planning to "host up to 20 CEOs at a time, for up to three days each, with the executives staying in the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel" (GLOBE & MAIL, 2/13).

Colbert Urging Fans To Plaster Olympics With Poster

CEREMONIAL WEAR: In Vancouver, Jeff Lee reported Canadian medalists are "wearing special jackets made just for them" at the medal ceremonies in Whistler. The "red jackets, with Canada across the front, were unveiled Thursday." Canadian Olympic Team Chef de Mission Nathalie Lambert said that sponsor and partner Hudson's Bay Co. "made one jacket for each of" Canada's 206 athletes, and it also "made 300 more, to be auctioned off as fundraisers" (VANCOUVER SUN, 2/13). Meanwhile, Polo Ralph Lauren yesterday had a two-page spread in the N.Y. Times advertising its role as the official outfitter of the U.S. Olympic Team (N.Y. TIMES, 2/14).

SOUTHERN AGGRESSION: YAHOO SPORTS' Maggie Hendricks noted Stephen Colbert Thursday unveiled his Olympic poster, designed by Shepherd Fairey. The poster is available on the Web site of "The Colbert Report," and Colbert is "encouraging fans to show their support by printing it out and 'plastering it all over Vancouver'" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/13).