BNP Paribas Extends Roland Garros Sponsorship

Written by: Staff on 31st May 2012

BNP Paribas Extends Roland Garros Sponsorship |

The density of the French Open’s crowds show no sign of abating this year and although the plans to extend and update Roland Garros may have to wait some time, the Federation Francaise de Tennis has agreed to a new five year extension with major sponsors BNP Paribas.

The new deal will last through 2016 and Jean-Laurent, Bonnafé, chief executive officer of BNP Paribas, said: “The partnership between BNP Paribas and the FFT will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2013, representing 40 years of shared joy and passion thanks to the magnificent sport of tennis.

“Roland-Garros has played a decisive role in building our visibility. It remains the flagship event of our tennis sponsorship program. Our loyalty to this sport in all of its dimensions reflects the core values that are essential to a bank operating on the ground: local presence and support over the long term.”

The commercial relationship is one of the longest in tennis and was initially struck when Philippe Chatrier, then president of the FFT, required funding to build lodges on the center of Roland Garros and agreed courtside signage for 300,000 francs.

“At the time, BNP had only existed seven years and was missing a bit of identity,” says Antoine Sire, BNP Paribas director of communications. “Having the name on television screens played an important role.”

Besides Roland Garros, the bank is a partner of the Davis Cup, Fed Cup and five of the nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 series events with a tennis budget of 30 million Euros.

Topics: Bnp Paribas, Roland Garros