OLY: Pound lashes Knight over relations with sponsors

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2000
OLY: Pound lashes Knight over relations with sponsors

By Krystyna Rudzki, Olympics Correspondent

SYDNEY, Feb 17 AAP - A major rift between the International Olympic Committee and Sydney
Games organisers opened today over claims Michael Knight had alienated international sponsors.

IOC vice-president and marketing supremo Dick Pound attacked Mr Knight and other SOCOG
managers for having a dysfunctional relationship with Olympic sponsors and bad mouthing
the most successful marketing program in Games history.

Mr Pound said the IOC was frustrated at the bad press for the Sydney Olympic marketing
program, even though SOCOG had raised almost $700 million in sponsorship, 90 per cent
of what was raised in Atlanta.

"We have to confess to a feeling of considerable frustration in that we know this has
been an enormous success as a marketing program," he told a media conference.

"No matter how often we remind them of how there's been an enormous success of this
program, they (SOCOG) insist on describing it as a failure, that there's been a marketing
shortfall and in some way the marketing agenda has let down SOCOG as opposed to being
one of its real mainstays."

"It's done so much more here than in any other Olympic Games in history that we just
don't understand whether perhaps, in my case, whether my brand of English is intelligible
to the local flora and fauna."

Mr Pound blamed senior management, including Mr Knight, for the bad publicity which
had spread worldwide and had affected SOCOG's relationship with its sponsors.

"There appears to be from a distance a dysfunctional relationship between the organising
committee and those people who made it possible for the organising committee to do a lot
of what it has to do for these Games," he said.

Mr Pound, chairman of the IOC marketing commission, is one of the frontrunners to take
over the presidency from Juan Antonio Samaranch next year and a good marketing platform
is essential to his success.

The Canadian said he was perplexed at Mr Knight's continuing criticism of the marketing program.

"We do not understand whether they don't understand just what a success this has been,
or there is some other agenda that has not been disclosed to us," he said.

The IOC's broadside was prior to a SOCOG press conference, where Olympics Minister
Knight announced a package to repair the final $36 million hole in the Games budget.

IOC marketing official Michael Payne said the SOCOG board needed to make the $36 million
in cuts because they spent their profit two years ago.

"It's the first time you've gone and created your legacy two years before the closing
ceremony," he said.

Mr Pound said SOCOG regarded its marketing predictions - raised twice - as a milch
cow that could be returned to again and again.

"Against our advice," he said.

"We thought the original goal was wildly optimistic, then when it got raised again,
we thought that was foolishly optimistic.

"The third time, we knew it was nuts. Eventually we were proven to be right."

Mr Pound also said last year's scandal over the successful bidding process of the 2002
Salt Lake Winter Olympics had nothing to do with any of SOCOG sponsorship shortfalls.

But Mr Knight disagreed, telling reporters that $50 million needed to be cut from sponsorship
over the fallout.

He also said he was not surprised by Mr Pound's attack on him.

"I'm never surprised by anything Dick says, I've known Dick for quite a while now and
we've had our moments from time to time," Mr Knight said.

He said he had not heard such concerns from the IOC's delegate to oversee Sydney's
preparations, Jacques Rogge, one of Mr Pound's rivals to take over the IOC presidency
next year.

"If Dr Rogge is frustrated, he's never expressed his frustrations to us," Mr Knight said.

"He has on occasions put quite strong views on a range of matters, but not the matters
you're talking about."

Mr Knight did make mention of Mr Pound's role as coordination commission head of the
Atlanta Games, which had problems with technology and transport.

"I'm always happy to listen to someone with Dick Pound's experience, he's very experienced
with Olympic Games, he played a major role in the Atlanta Games, Dick has a lot of valuable
advice to pass on," he said.

AAP knr/jds/mo/ah/br

KEYWORD: OLY SPONSORS NIGHTLEAD

2000 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.