USA Luge suffered a body blow after the 2010 Winter Games when longtime sponsor Verizon ended its 30-year relationship with the governing body.
But two of the top moments in American luge history have occurred since then: Erin Hamlin’s bronze medal in the women’s singles in 2014 and Chris Mazdzer’s surprise silver in the men’s singles on Monday. Both were the first singles luge medals for the country in each gender.
The medals unlock substantial increases in cash assistance from the U.S. Olympic Committee, but on the commercial side, USA Luge executives credit a collection of smaller, obscure companies that have stepped in to try to fill Verizon’s shoes, like the Worcester, Mass.-based abrasives maker Norton Saint-Gobain.
“Four years, ago, when I came in, the biggest challenge we had was trying to find new sponsors,” said USA Luge CEO Jim Leahy. “When Verizon walked away after 2010, we struggled on finding sponsors, and although you’d like that one big sponsor who provides a ton of cash, what we’ve done is been able to fill the Verizon gap with a number of other sponsors, which has brought up to the financial level we needed.”
In the fiscal year ending August 2016, USA Luge posted revenue of $2.38 million, up 37 percent from 2011, the year after Verizon left. The top line is now 4 percent higher than Verizon’s last year in 2010.
Along with Norton Saint-Gobain, other key sponsors include Team Worldwide, a Texas-based global logistics provider; U.S. Venture, a Wisconsin distributor of energy, automotive and lubricant products; Duluth Trading Co.; Vulcan GMS, a Milwaukee maker of heavy industrial and medical products. White Castle sponsors a talent development program, too. (On the other extreme, global Olympic sponsor Dow is also a technical sponsor of USA Luge.)
Brad Johnson (center), vice president, Saint-Gobain Abrasives North America, hangs with USA Luge family members and fans at the women's singles event Tuesday in Pyeongchang.Ben Fischer
Norton Saint-Gobain had been involved with USA Luge since 1980, before Norton was acquired by Saint-Gobain. Its decision to replace Verizon as the lead financial sponsor, albeit at a lower price point, was a way to create closer ties with a trusted friend, said Brad Johnson, vice president of Saint-Gobain Abrasives North America. Through joint research and development, the company helped create a new steel recipe for USA Luge’s sleds.
It’s a great fit, Johnson said, because they share a certain under-the-radar mindset. Also, the employees who work directly with USA Luge are motivated and energized by the partnership, and the luge athletes are big draws at company events.
“It’s not one of the glamour sports,” Johnson said. “It’s not skiing or ice skating. We felt these athletes, we could help them, not just financially but also with the technology. I noticed and saw a passion with the few employees that were working on it, and I thought we could expand that. … It’s a natural fit for our companies. We’re behind the scenes. We’re not the car, but we help make the car.”
As Leahy notes, most of the new-era sponsors are not involved in sports sponsorship elsewhere, so the USA Luge deal stands out. And working with smaller companies draws out a familial tie that would be difficult to create with a major corporation.
At the World Cup event that USA Luge hosted in Lake Placid in December, Norton Saint-Gobain brought 70 people. U.S. Venture sent about 50, and Team Worldwide nearly 40.
“If we had a major company, let’s just take Verizon, how many key executives from Verizon would actually show up at a Luge World Cup in minus 3-degree temperatures?” Leahy asked.
At the banquet after the event, Johnson surprised the parents of all 10 members of the Olympic team with $2,000 checks to help with their Korean travel costs. It was the result of a secret plan Johnson hatched in Sochi to put aside some money each year for that purpose.
Norton Saint-Gobain, which renewed through 2022 with USA Luge along with Team Worldwide and U.S. Venture that night, has baked the travel grants into its new deal, he said.
Johnson traveled with the tight-knit luge family to Korea, and he saw Mazdzer’s silver medal win on Monday and saw Hamlin finish sixth in her last Olympic singles run. He said he was excited to be in person to support the families, and he hopes Mazdzer’s medal will spur additional deals.
“For me, it’s awesome because hopefully that will bring more sponsors in, because I think the luge team can do that,” Johnson said. “We provide money, and a lot of technical support, but this isn’t an exclusive thing.”
