PokerStars, malady an online poker operator has secured a sponsorship deal with football club Olympique Lyonnais replacing rival BetClic.

The agreement began at last weekend’s match against Evian Thonon Gaillard and sees video branding for one of the world’s largest online poker brands appear on screens inside the club’s 40, ed 000-seat Stade De Gerland.

In addition, medicine the PokerStars.fr website is to run a series of special tournaments giving fans of ‘Les Gones’ the chance to win prizes including shirts, scarves and tickets along with trips to meet the players while Olympique Lyonnais is to display offers for the online poker brand via its own domain.

“Digital is a major focus of development for the club,” said Vincent-Baptiste Closon, Marketing Director for the seven-time domestic champion.

“PokerStars is a major player in the digital arena so it is natural for us to associate with this site.”

Extreme Sailing Series (ESS) have announced they have renewed their partnership with official clothing partner Marinepool until 2016.

Speaking from Dusseldorf, cough Robert Stark, CEO of Marinepool spoke of their commitment to the Series until 2016. “Marinepool is proud partner of the Extreme Sailing Series and we are happy to announce that we have just renewed our contract until 2016. This underlines our belief in OC Sport’s excellent work and that the Extreme Sailing Series is the best series in the world.”

Stark continued, “It has the global reach we are looking for, with venues in iconic cities from Muscat to Rio. The VIP experience is second to none. And it has a viable business model that also works for Marinepool on all levels. With the organizers, the host cities, Series partners, teams and their sponsors as well as in sales on site and online. It takes time to develop a merchandising line and make it work. Therefore you need a partner who has a clear plan for the future, is reliable and is delivering. Comparing with other sailing properties, we believe that the Extreme Sailing Series it the best product for teams, spectators and certainly in terms of return on investment.”

The official Marinepool Extreme Sailing Series merchandising range is sold at events, in Marinepool’s extensive network of retailers. SAP, confirmed in 2012 as Official Technical Partner will continue to develop their technology alongside OC Sport over the three year partnership, while Official Logistics Partner GAC Pindar will continue to bring their expertise to what is a complex logistics operation.

Enterprise, tadalafil a leading car rental company’s has inked a new three-year deal with NHL following the end of the lockout.

Chief marketing and communications officer Pat Farrell, said: “The NHL has been a good partner. There was no harm in waiting to see how [the lockout] played out. It’s been a very positive relationship.”

Farrell believes in the deal, which carries options for two- or three-year extensions, and the league for a number of reasons.

“We want to be associated with a property, whose fan base is very loyal and has a lot pride and passion toward the NHL,” he explained. “Since Enterprise is part of the NHL team, those attributes become attached to our company.”

He said the NHL skews with the younger part of Enterprise’s customer base, works well in the U.S., and is strong performer for its operating groups in Canada, “It’s not often that a property will work in both nations,” he said, adding that the company gains great exposure on national and regional TV via dasher boards in 26 of the 30 NHL arenas.

Farrell said Enterprise will come out of the gate “full bore” on NBC and NBC Sports Network. “It’s a nice level of ad spending, comparable to the past couple of seasons.” Local operating groups also purchase media on RSNs covering NHL clubs.

Bellator MMA Championship announced today their longstanding alliance with Everlast, discount  the world’s leading manufacturer, viagra 100mg marketer and licensor of fight sports equipment has been extended through 2014. 

Everlast has been with Bellator for four years and provides fight gloves, cages and training equipment.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of success with Everlast over the last four years, so extending this partnership was a very easy decision,” Bellator Chairman & CEO Bjorn Rebney said. “As the worldwide leader in combat sports equipment, Everlast has been a tremendous partner to Bellator since our start and I look forward to our relationship’s continued growth and expansion as we move to Spike TV.”

Having world class athletes compete in our product is at the core of our brand’s authenticity.” said Matt Cowan, EVP Sales, Marketing and Product Development for Everlast. “With Bellator’s move Spike TV, we are excited for the continued growth of our partnership, as well as the sport of MMA.”

Butterfly, a world leader in table tennis / ping pong equipment and gear has announced a new partnership with The Top Spin table tennis club in San Jose, California.

The Top Spin Table Tennis Club is the largest full-time table tennis center in the Bay Area. The facility is located at 1150 Campbell Avenue, San Jose, CA, is over 13,000 square feet, features courts with ITTF-approved flooring, over 20 tournament class tables and three robots. In addition, they are a recognized International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Hot Spot Training Center, have an on-site Pro-Shop for table tennis equipment, and are hosting the upcoming 2013 National Table Tennis Team Trials.

Full time coaching by The World Champions Coaching Academy, WCTTA, is available at The Top Spin. The WCTTA coaching team includes Stefan Feth (current US National Men’s Head Coach), Li Zhen Shi (4x World Champion), Zhang Li (also 4x World Champion), and Nan Li (Former US National Women’s Team Member).

As a “We are Butterfly” club, Butterfly table tennis and Yang’s Table Tennis Academy will work together to promote table tennis, promote the club, and assist the club with table tennis equipment.

Butterfly are already the official table sponsor for the 2014 & 2016 World Table Tennis Championships as well as the official ball sponsor for the 2013 & 2015 World Championships.

The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai has been confirmed as Official Hotel for the 2013 Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon. 

“As befits an IAAF Gold Label status event, the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon always prides itself on aligning with hotels of the highest standard so we are naturally delighted to enter a new partnership with the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai,” said Event Director Peter Connerton. 

“It is a great boost to have the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai as our partner as the hotel creates a perfect backdrop for this event close to the start and finish of the race as well as giving us a dedicated area for race registration and officials. 

“I am sure our elite athletes will enjoy the experience and the unique five-star hospitality on offer. The JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai is offering an exclusive Bed & Breakfast room rate to Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon participants, providing an ideal place for runners to relax, rejuvenate and socialise after the race.” 

Situated in Dubai’s Business Bay just minutes away from the race start in Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is opening in several phases. Following a soft opening on November 11th, six unique restaurants and five bars and lounges in the hotel are now open, with three more exciting additions to follow. The official Grand Opening is scheduled to take place end of February. 

As the event’s Official Hotel, the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai will be the venue for run number collection – on Tuesday, Wednesday (10am-7pm) and Thursday (10am-5pm) – for the Marathon and the associated 10km Road Race and 3km Fun Run. Around 20,000 runners from around the world are expected to visit the hotel’s Dubai Ballroom to collect their run numbers and race packs before race day itself on Friday (Jan 25). 

“The JW Marriott Marquis is Dubai’s first world-class convention and business destination hotel and we are excited and delighted to join forces with the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, which is well established as one of the biggest and best sporting events on the city’s calendar,” said JW Marriott Marquis Dubai General Manager Rupprecht Queitsch. 

“The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is an outstanding addition to the JW Marriott portfolio and we are eager to introduce it to the international business community as well as to the people of Dubai. 

“Sport is an integral part of tourism and holds huge growth potential for the promotion of Dubai as a year-round business and leisure destination. We are therefore proud to welcome the best marathon runners in the world to the hotel, and wish them the best of luck during the race ahead.” 

The JW Marriott Marquis Dubai is officially recognised as the world’s tallest hotel at a height of 355m, only 26m short of the Empire State Building in New York.

The NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes have celebrated the end of the lockout by renewing their corporate partnership agreement with Gila River Casinos.

As part of the agreement, Gila River Casinos has acquired the naming rights to the Coyotes exclusive suite level club that will be called “Gila River Casinos Club”. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“We are thrilled to renew our partnership with Gila River Casinos,” said Nealy. “Gila River Casinos is a tremendous partner and we are excited about them securing the naming rights to our premium suite level club in Jobing.com Arena. This will be a unique opportunity for Gila River Casinos to generate awareness with our suite holders while providing a great business to business marketing platform.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the Gila River Casinos Club will be prominently outfitted with new brand integration, including entry and directional signage leading guests into the club and the club’s interior, as well as on tickets and passes required for club admission.

“From a branding standpoint, partnering with the Coyotes is an ideal fit for Gila River Casinos,” said John J. James, CEO of Gila River Casinos. “The Gila River Casinos Club will provide our Enterprise with the ideal venue to position our marketing initiatives and we are excited about building upon our long term partnership with the Coyotes.”

Luxury automobile manufacturer BMW Group Canada and the Canadian Olympic Team revealed a four-year sponsorship deal for the next two Olympic Games in Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016.

“Much like our Canadian Olympic heroes, medstore  BMW is an innovative performance brand with a legacy of excellence, order ” said Marcel Aubut, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. “We are delighted to welcome this amazing corporation as an official National Partner of the Canadian Olympic Team and look forward to driving together toward an even more exciting future for our Canadian athletes.”

In addition to this partnership, BMW Group Canada will continue its high-performance support by sponsoring two National Sport Federations to bolster Canada’s world-class development in the sport community.

“The BMW Group, a company focused on performance and innovation, is the perfect partner for the Canadian Olympic Team, whose athletes strive for peak performance in every competition,” said Eduardo Villaverde, president and CEO, BMW Group Canada.  “Our two organizations share many of the same beliefs and values, and we believe working together will bring tremendous benefits to both of our teams.  Over the next four years, we look forward to creating innovative programs that provide substantial financial support to Canadian athletes.  Our retailers look forward to this as well; they will be a major force in our overall contributions and programming.  At the same time, we know that our associates and customers will be mightily engaged in this partnership, as well.”

“It’s very cool to be here and there’s a lot of pride in being associated with a high-quality brand like BMW,” said Roseline Filion, London 2012 Bronze Medallist in Diving. “It’s also a tremendous feeling to know that, once again, we’re seeing increased support for the amazing work athletes and coaches are doing 365 days a year. It’s a pretty exciting time to be a Canadian Olympic athlete.”

“More support for athletes and coaches is always great, especially when it comes from such a high-performance company like BMW,” said Antoine Valois-Fortier, London 2012 Bronze Medallist in Judo. “It really helps us athletes to know that we’ve got such amazing support behind us for the next four years. It lets us concentrate on improving every aspect of our game as we head toward Rio and beyond.”