Environmental solutions company Waste Management has announced a 10-year extension to its title sponsorship of annual PGA Tour golf event, the Phoenix Open.
The deal becomes effective once the existing contract expires in January 2015 and will run from 2016 to 2025. Waste Management has sponsored the tournament since 2010.
The deal was agreed between Waste Management, the PGA Tour and tournament host The Thunderbirds.
“The Waste Management Phoenix Open has been a very successful partnership and we set the bar high for sustainability in sports,” David Steiner, Waste Management president and chief executive, said. “This title sponsorship has engaged our customers, elevated our brand, told our transformation story, and afforded us the real privilege of educating hundreds of thousands of individuals on ways to lead a more sustainable lifestyle at home, in our communities and at our workplaces.”
As well as holding title sponsor rights, Waste Management has introduced sustainability initiatives at the event and achieved zero waste from the tournament being sent to a landfill in 2013 and 2014.
The extension announcement marks a banner year for the tournament, which established several single-day attendance records including a PGA Tour-record 189,722 on Saturday en route to a total of 563,000. Consequently, the 2014 Phoenix Open generated more than $7m (€5.6m) for charity, the third-highest total in the tournament’s history, to bring the all-time total to $93m. It is now within reach of becoming the PGA Tour’s third tournament to reach $100m, a milestone tournament officials expect to reach in 2015.
The 2015 tournament is scheduled for January 26 to February 1 at the newly renovated TPC Scottsdale, when Kevin Stadler (pictured) defends his title.