USOC sponsor Kellogg’s today announced a roster of nine former U.S. Olympians and hopefuls for the '14 Sochi Games that it will feature in marketing and promotions around the event. The company signed snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, '80 hockey team member Jim Craig, freeskier Torin Yater-Wallace, ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White, slider Noelle Pikus-Pace, Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy and Paralympic skier Heath Calhoun. The announcement comes exactly one year before the official start of the Sochi Games. The endorsements follow a recent sponsorship Kellogg's signed with the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Association. Meanwhile, Liberty Mutual, the USOC’s newest sponsor, today is holding a one-year countdown event at its HQs and more than a half-dozen locations in Florida, Texas, Ohio and Arizona. The company has 15 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic figures making appearances at those locations. The biggest event will take place at its Boston HQs, where seven former Olympians will appear, including hockey player Mike Eruzione, figure skater Michelle Kwan and gymnast Aly Raisman. The company will post video from the Boston event on its intranet for its 50,000 employees worldwide.
TICKETS AVAILABLE SOON: CoSport, the Olympic ticket sales company known in the U.S. as Jet Set Sports, announced it will put individual tickets to the Sochi Games on sale Monday. Ticket prices will start at $22. Physical tickets will be available in January '14. Jet Set Sports is an official sponsor of the USOC and its authorized ticket seller. It also sells tickets in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Great Britain, Norway and Sweden. In addition to individual tickets, Jet Set sells corporate hospitality packages. Jet Set Founder Sead Dizdarevic said demand for those packages was slightly higher than what the company saw for the '10 Vancouver Games and five times greater than what it saw for the '06 Turin Games. Much of that demand is coming from Russia and Scandinavia. Dizdarevic said, “Corporate in Russia will be substantial. Corporate in the rest of Jet Set might be smaller.”
