da bet esporte： Seven companies, including the current sponsor Dilmah Tea, have expressedformal interest in bidding for Sri Lankan team sponsorship for the nextfour years, according to Sri Lanka Cricket sources
Charlie Austin01-Mar-2005
Dilmah has been associated with Sri Lankan cricket for some time now© Dilmah Cricket Network
Seven companies, including the current sponsor Dilmah Tea, have expressedformal interest in bidding for Sri Lankan team sponsorship for the nextfour years, according to Sri Lanka Cricket sources. The presentcontract expires after the end of the postponed New Zealand tour nextmonth.The seven interested companies include Dilmah Tea, KIA Motors, Hero Hondaand LG Electronics. Winfield Associates have sourced two interested localcompanies and Taj Television, the current broadcasting rightsholder, hasalso sourced one undisclosed interested party.The second stage of the bid process will now commence and bid documents arenow being prepared by SJMS Associates, the financial auditors who areoverseeing the process to ensure transparency. The deadline for formal bidsis expected to be March 15. The winner will be announced shortly afterwards.Dilmah Tea won the previous contract with a record offer of US$3.3million forthree years. SLC sources claim the starting price for the new four-year termis going to be around US$5million. The scheduling of several India tours overthe four-year period is an important attraction, including two full tours in2005 and 2008 plus two additional tri-series in 2005 and 2006.But the last time the rights were offered was also before the controversyover World Cup branding that nearly forced Dilmah’s logo off the players’kits because of a product clash with Pepsi. A last-minute compromise wasreached but potential sponsors will now be aware that the plum events, theWorld Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy, are not necessarily included in thepackage unless they are a major ICC sponsor.