Dick's Sporting Goods Teams Up with MLS and U.S. Soccer |
PITTSBURGH, March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Dick's Sporting Goods (NYSE: DKS) and Soccer United Marketing are pleased to announce a significant restructuring of their current agreement, now making Dick's Sporting Goods the Official Sporting Goods Retailer of Major League Soccer as well as ten of the 14 teams playing in the league in 2008. Dick's Sporting Goods will also become the Official Sporting Goods Retailer of U.S. Soccer including the U.S. Men's and Women's National Teams. The five-year agreement is designed to correspond with the growth plans of the country's largest sporting goods retailer, allowing Dick's to become an official sponsor of each of the remaining teams as it begins opening stores in those markets, culminating in 2011 when the sponsorship will cover every team in the league exclusively. "Our relationship with Major League Soccer and the U.S. Soccer Federation further demonstrates the commitment Dick's Sporting Goods has made to the game of soccer in the United States," said Jeffrey R. Hennion, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer of Dick's Sporting Goods. "This agreement gives us the ability to reach players and fans of the game at every level, including the newly created U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which will provide the most elite youth soccer clubs in the country the infrastructure and curriculum needed to compete at an international level for years to come." "We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Dick's Sporting Goods," said Kathy Carter, Executive Vice President for Soccer United Marketing. "We look forward to making Dick's Sporting Goods the destination for soccer players and soccer fans to find all of the gear they need to play or cheer for the beautiful game." The enhanced agreement between Dick's Sporting Goods and MLS will also include the presenting sponsorship of First Kick, the opening week of the 2008 MLS regular season that will feature six nationally televised games on ESPN2, Fox Soccer Channel, HDNet and Telefutura, starting Saturday, March 29 when the Los Angeles Galaxy face off against the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colo. Dick's Sporting Goods also announced that is has extended its sponsorship of the MLS and U.S. Soccer coverage on both ESPN and Fox Soccer Channel, including the presenting sponsorship of the Halftime Reports during the MLS games of the week on both networks. About Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. Dick's Sporting Goods, Inc. is an authentic full-line sporting goods retailer offering a broad assortment of brand name sporting goods equipment, apparel, and footwear in a specialty store environment. As of February 2, 2008, the Company operated 340 Dick's Sporting Goods stores in 36 states primarily throughout the eastern half of the U.S. The Company also owns Golf Galaxy, a multi-channel golf specialty retailer, with 79 stores in 29 states, ecommerce websites and catalog operations and Chick's Sporting Goods which operates 15 specialty sporting goods stores in Southern California. About Soccer United Marketing Founded in 2002, Soccer United Marketing (SUM) is the preeminent soccer business company in North America. SUM holds the exclusive rights to the most important soccer properties in the region, including: all commercial rights to Major League Soccer; the United States Soccer Federation; promotional and marketing rights to Mexican National Team games played in the United States; the marketing and promotion of the CONCACAF Gold Cup(TM), and marketing, promotional and broadcast rights to the prestigious eight-team Mexican club tournament -- InterLiga(TM). SUM also manages promotional and marketing rights in the United States for Mexico's most popular sports team, Club Deportivo Guadalajara (Chivas). In addition, SUM created SuperLiga, the innovative professional tournament between MLS and Mexico's First Division clubs that debuted in 2007. SUM's newest addition to its portfolio is the Pan-Pacific Championship 2008, a new international soccer tournament that crowns the top club from the Pan Pacific region. These global properties are represented by SUM's slogan: One Sport. One Company.(TM) For more information, please visit http://www.SUMworld.com.SOURCE Dick's Sporting Goods
CONTACT: Jeffrey R. Hennion Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer Dick's Sporting Goods 724.273.3400
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CONTACT:
Jeffrey R. Hennion, Executive Vice President
& Chief Marketing Officer of Dick's Sporting Goods,
+1-724-273-3400
