G.I. Joes Presenting Sponsor for Grand Prix of Portland

[jjspierx]

CHAMP CAR ANNOUNCES G. I.JOE’S TO BE PRESENTING SPONSOR OF CHAMP CARGRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND

JUNE 17-19, 2005



G. I. Joe’s 22Pacific N.W. Retail Locations to Promote Champ Car



(Portland,OR. February9, 2005). Champ Car World Seriesand Global Events Group announce that G. I.Joe’s will become the presenting sponsor for the 22nd running of theChamp Car Grand Prix of Portland to be held at Portland International RacewayJune 17-19.



Joe Chrnelich,Executive VP of Champ Car stated “G.I. Joe’s has long played a keyrole in the success of the Champ Car events in Portlandand we are thrilled that they are involved again. With support from companiessuch as G.I. Joe’s, we are certain that we will put on a first-classevent in Portland with a greatweekend full of activities.”



Mike Nealy,President of Global Events Group said“We are excited to have G. I. Joe’s back in the race as thepresenting sponsor. This is a very positive statement to the community for themto return in a major role for the race weekend. They deserve great recognitionfor their support over the years and we are excited about their marketing plansfor the race,” Nealy added.



“We believe in thenew ownership of Champ Car and the tremendous event this is for Oregonand the Pacific Northwest” stated NormDaniels, CEO of the Oregon-based company. “We plan tosupport the event with a significant dollar commitment and an aggressivemarketing campaign leading up to race weekend” added Daniels.



The Champ Car BusinessCoalition, which consists of the Portland Business Alliance, the Oregon SportsAuthority, POVA, the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber and the PortlandRose Festival Association, was formed to strengthen thecommitment of the business community to the race commended G. I. Joe’sfor its leadership.



“We know this eventhas an $8 million annual economic impact on the state’s economy, and thisevent wouldn’t be possible without business leaders like NormDaniels and G. I. Joe’s” stated Scott Andrews,President of Melvin Mark Properties and Chair-Elect of the Portland BusinessAlliance and Business Coalition member.



“We are working tobring other Oregonbusinesses into the race to develop the event as an economic developmentplatform for Oregon and theregion. We are fortunate to be on an internationally televised stage with ChampCar, and we hope other companies join G. I. Joe’s in support of theevent” added Andrews.



The Oregon race will beshown LIVE on CBS for 2 ½ hrs on Father’s Day, June 19th, also live into54 countries via Eurosport, live into Canada and atotal of 180 countries worldwidewill view the Oregon event.



Tickets go on sale thisFRIDAY, February 11th, for the 22nd annual Champ Car Grand Prix of Portlandpresented by G. I. Joe’s at all G. I. Joe’s/Ticketmasterlocations throughout the Northwest, or online at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling theevent Ticket Office at 503-821-4344.

[racinthestreets]

Just got my tickets.

Grandstand C-1, Festival Curves entrance, Jumbotron and modest view of pit activity - top row.

Could not get it done on Ticketmaster so I called the number listed on Champ Car Web Site, Schedule, Portland.

The agent said the top rows of the Festival Grandstands are almost gone already. Thanks for the post.

[marcus]

didnt they used to sponsor that event as well ???

always good to have any sponsors coming on board

[jjspierx]

Yeah, GI Joes sponsored them in the past, but they didn't last year. It was so late before Portland was announced as being on the schedule that nobody stepped up to be the presenting sponsor. Its good to have GI Joes back on board.

[JohnSSC]

Nice to see them associated with the event again.

[The Snout]

Good to see that the local businesses have formed a group to take advantage of the race. That's the sort of support that can make an event successful again, and give them an annual boost to their business. And not just during the race weekend, as the event puts the place on the map, helps create business hopefully all year around.

[dubby99]

Let's hope this race turns into a profitable one so it dose not get droped in the future for a concrete canyon.

[Kicking-back]

We can but hope.

It's just about the only permanent road course left on the schedule.

Good to see a long-standing sponsor re-upping.