The owners of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells have a new deal in place to keep the tennis tournament in Southern California. The challenge now is keeping the name sponsor on board.
Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co., Orange County’s largest private company, plans to begin talks on its continuing role as sponsor after the two-week desert tennis event ends on Sunday.
“We plan on sitting down with them following the 2006 tournament to discuss Pacific Life’s involvement in future years,” a Pacific Life spokesman said of the tourney’s owners.
Pacific Life is in the final year of a five-year sponsorship.
Early this month, directors for the Pacific Life Open, which has struggled financially and sold some of the surrounding land at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to developers, announced plans to sell a 50% stake held by management group IMG to help cut mounting debt.
The acquiring group includes former tennis stars Pete Sampras, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King, as well as the United States Tennis Association, Tennis Magazine and the city of Indian Wells.
IMG had fielded offers to sell the tournament to Shanghai and Qatar. PM Sports owns the other half of the tournament and runs the event.
Pacific Life is involved in other sports sponsorships.
In October, the life insurer extended its sponsorship of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl through 2009. Pacific Life has been the college bowl game’s title sponsor since 2002.
,Pat Maio
