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News
Game, set and match for Stella
This summer will be the last time that the InBev brand will sponsor the Stella Artois Grass Court Championship. The lager has been associated with the event – the annual prelude to Wimbledon – for 30 years, but has exited that partnership as the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) reconsiders its commercial strategy.
Commenting on the conclusion of the deal, one of the longest-running sponsorships in sport, InBev UK president, Stuart MacFarlane said: “The LTA’s decision to expand the sponsorship deal just no longer fitted with our own strategic vision for the brand and so we have, very amicably, agreed to go our separate ways. We have been delighted to support British tennis over such a long period, and are proud to have created and been associated with such a prestigious event as The Artois Championships – a shining jewel in the UK tennis crown.”
LTA chief executive continued: “As part of our new commercial strategy we are looking to market the sport as a complete package, rather than as a series of individual events and programmes. Once we explained this new approach, ourselves and InBev both agreed that now is an appropriate time for a change.”
Ben Grant, 19/03/08