Pepsi Opts Not to Renew Sponsorship Deal for US Open

Pepsi will not renew its multi-year deal as the exclusive soft drink sponsor for the US Open Tennis Championships. The deal expires at the end of the year.

Pepsi has been a sponsor since about 1994 but in an annual review of it sports marketing budget decided its dollars would be best allocated to sports properties that have season long impact that can drive sales at retail, Dave DeCecco, a spokesperson for Pepsi, said yesterday.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pepsi also has sponsorship deals with the National Football League and Jeff Gordon, a popular NASCAR driver.

The tennis championships are held each year in Flushing Meadows, New York.

"It was a really tough decision, we really enjoyed working with the people as the USTA [United States Tennis Association]," DeCecco said. "But we're in a challenging economic environment. We're counting every dollar and we decided to focus on sports properties with season long impact."