NEW HAVEN, CT - New Haven Open at Yale, a WTA event that is part of the Olympus US Open Series to be held August 19-27, 2011 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale, has signed First Niagara as the Presenting Sponsor of the tournament for a minimum of three years, it was announced today by Tournament Director, Anne Worcester. The new tournament name will be New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara and in the coming months a new tournament logo will be unveiled.
“I am thrilled to announce that First Niagara will be our Presenting Sponsor for at least the next three years,” said Worcester. “When First Niagara President and Chief Executive Officer John Koelmel and I spoke in September, the future of the tournament was very much in doubt. John made it clear, at that time, that he understood the importance of the tournament to the New Haven community and that he intended First Niagara to play a significant role in supporting our future success.”
First Niagara joins Cornerstone Sponsors Aetna, American Express, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale University as major supporters of the New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara, a large-scale international sporting event that generates $26 million in regional economic impact and benefits the community in a positive, healthy and active way, especially among youth.
“Early on in our meetings with community leaders in New Haven, three things became readily apparent to me; the importance of this tournament to the New Haven economy, the many ways in which the tournament benefits New Haven neighborhoods, and the obvious synergy between the tournament’s focus and First Niagara’s commitment to youth mentoring and development programs,” Koelmel said. “Pledging our leadership support to this critically important tournament was one way that we could demonstrate First Niagara’s commitment to becoming an integral part of the community”.
First Niagara’s sponsorship activation will have a strong emphasis on supporting and developing community outreach tennis programs. Three examples of the many existing community outreach tennis programs First Niagara will support are:
- First Niagara Family Classic: A parent/child tournament which takes place from February-August across eight states, has more than 5,000 participants, and culminates during the New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara.
- First Niagara Free Lesson: An annual large scale clinic in May that introduces hundreds of New Haven school kids to the game of tennis. At the end of the lesson, kids are encouraged to sign up for affordable tennis lessons offered through New Haven Youth Tennis and New Haven Parks and Recreation.
- First Niagara Latino Day: A clinic and Q&A session with a professional tennis player which introduces New Haven Latino youth to the game of tennis during the New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara. At the end of the day, kids are encouraged to sign up for affordable tennis lessons offered through New Haven Youth Tennis and New Haven Parks and Recreation.
In addition, First Niagara is working with the tournament to expand mentoring and academic tutoring initiatives within tennis programs in New Haven and beyond.
“Adding First Niagara as Presenting Sponsor of the New Haven Open at Yale puts us in an extremely strong position moving forward. We now have five major partners, which allows us to continue to deliver good value and terrific entertainment to fans," said Worcester. "Further, First Niagara’s commitment to supporting our Community Outreach programs is significant because our philosophies are completely aligned – it’s all about using this tennis tournament as a vehicle to provide opportunities for youth to engage in healthy activities that will improve their lives and give them a better chance to become successful adults.”
"We are delighted that First Niagara will become the Presenting Sponsor of the New Haven Open at Yale, which is the final women's event before the US Open and the anchor of the Olympus US Open Series," said Jim Curley, Chief Professional Tournaments Officer & US Open Tournament Director. "As an additional benefit, First Niagara will focus on expanding community outreach programs as the USTA encourages all tournaments and their sponsors to leverage the power of professional tennis to build interest and participation in our sport at the community level."
First Niagara will also receive tournament sponsorship benefits including signage which provides substantial branding exposure to more than 80,000 on-site spectators and millions of television viewers via eight hours of coverage on ESPN2, significant on-site exposure to connect with consumers, tickets and hospitality to entertain clients, and more.
For more information about the New Haven Open at Yale, visit www.newhavenopen.com.
About New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara
New Haven Open at Yale presented by First Niagara marks the beginning of a new era in the New England professional sports world, thanks in large part to First Niagara and Cornerstone Sponsors Aetna, American Express, Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale University. The event has always been much more than a tennis tournament; it is a leading example of leveraging a large-scale international sporting event to generate $26 million in regional economic impact and building community pride, spirit and engagement, especially among youth. The 2011 tournament is a women’s-only Olympus US Open Series tournament on the WTA Tour and will be held August 19-27 at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.
About First Niagara Financial Group
First Niagara Financial Group, Inc., through its wholly owned subsidiary, First Niagara Bank, N.A., has $21 billion in assets, 256 branches and $13 billion in deposits. First Niagara Bank, N.A. is a multi-state community-oriented bank providing financial services to individuals, families and businesses. Upon completion of its pending merger with NewAlliance Bancorp, Inc. -- subject to customary closing conditions including approvals from regulators --First Niagara will have more than $29 billion in assets, $18 billion in deposits and 340 branches across Upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.fnfg.com.
About the Olympus US Open Series
The Olympus US Open Series has established itself as a true regular season of hard court tennis, linking 10 summer tournaments to the US Open. Fans follow the action throughout the summer through national television coverage, culminating each week with back-to-back men's and women's finals every Sunday afternoon. Players battle for $40 million, including a chance for bonus prize money at the US Open. In 2008, Olympus became the first title sponsor of the Series. The Olympus US Open Series is also supported by sponsors American Express and Evian.
Andy Murray won the 2010 Olympus US Open Series men's title and Caroline Wozniacki won the women's title. In 2007, Roger Federer collected the biggest paycheck in tennis history -- $2.4 million -- for winning US Open and the Olympus US Open Series. In 2005, Kim Clijsters also captured both the US Open and the Olympus US Open Series, winning $2.2 million -- the largest purse in women's sports history -- and again equaled that amount in 2010, winning the US Open and finishing the Olympus US Open Series in second place.
