WDA: MERSEYSIDE OPEN A SPONSORSHIP PROPOSAL CLIENT: POTENTIAL SPONSORS September, 2014
Introduction About the Merseyside Open The Merseyside Open is a proposed event to help boost tourism, employment, sport, and the image of Merseyside. The event will help bring together the local community through the much-loved (and international) sport of darts. Having a major event in Merseyside will bring the biggest names in the sport to the region and give the chance for local, amateur players to test their skills against their heroes. Surprisingly, there are no major darts opens based in the Merseyside region (the only major event is the Premier League, which is a one-night only event, part of the PDC s Premier League). Darts is a popular sport in Merseyside, with many areas holding local pub leagues. The county team are also becoming a top side, from being relegated to the fourth division they are now back in the third division and are strong favourites for promotion. In the PDC, Merseyside now boast strong, tournament winners from 2014 Lakeside Champion Stephen Bunting, Dave Chisnall, Michael Smith and a resurging Alan Tabern. The WDA feel Merseyside holds a strong case for holding a major darts event (and possibly more). We will work with local darts leagues to ensure the Merseyside Open is success. The WDA have produced a five year plan for the event, outlining their vision and what they hope to achieve building year-on-year. The WDA would like to thank everyone s time in reading this proposal and hope your help and generosity can help transform the Merseyside Open into a week-long spectacular. businesses to help generate a boost in the Merseyside economy and help out the local communities. We understand that anti-social behaviour is a major problem across the county and we feel having a major sporting event (in the county) can help tackle this issue. This tournament can create more jobs and allow young people the chance to engage in a popular sport, with a potential to travel around the world. The WDA is about giving people chances and the Merseyside Open can certainly open doors to give chances. Please find throughout this proposal details on how sponsoring this event could do for your business and reputation. Also, included is a price structure listing the sponsor positions available (i.e. title sponsor). We are not looking for much sponsorship, we just need sponsors to help us make a difference to the county (and the world) by helping to unite the globe through playing darts. Your sponsorship can make a difference. Thank you for your time in reading and I do hope that together we can make - not only the Merseyside Open, but the WDA a success and help bring some good to the communities that deserve it. Yours faithfully, D Sidwell Director of the World Darts Association (WDA) With this proposal we are looking to gain sponsorship from Merseyside most established
Top Venues, Top Event The above image shows just some of the possible venues, we are considering for the inaugural event. Choosing the right venue is critical for the first event; as we need a venue that grows the public interest (in the event, but also we need a venue that is affordable. One of the venues we are strongly considering is Riley s Grand Central. Riley s is located next to Adelphi Hotel and has hosted PDC amateur qualifiers for their UK Open event. We are considering this venue for two important reasons Price and equipment. The price will fit within our budget and there are six dart lanes already in place. Players and spectators can purchase drinks and food from the club, which will produce extra sales for the club and lower our costs. With Riley s our only costs will be for the venue hire, prize money fund and awards (trophies). If we receive more-than expected entrants, our Plan B is to hold the event at the Liverpool Cricket Club. However, we will need to extra funds for equipment (and of course catering). We are very closing in deciding the venue and then we will concentrate our efforts on organising the event and getting players to enter. In five years-time, we hope to host the event from Aintree Racecourse using the Equestrian centre as the main playing area, we will also have various other events taking place across the site. We want the Merseyside Darts Open to be week-long festival providing entertainment and a fantastic day out for all the family. World Darts Association
Sponsorship Benefits Proposal Like the majority of sport events sponsors have an excellent chance to make the public aware of their brand and build up their reputation. The Merseyside Open is no different to other sport events. We view ourselves similar (and can match) the Dutch Open (BDO major). The points listed below show the key benefits of sponsoring the Merseyside Open. Raise brand awareness and create preference Create positive PR and raise awareness of the organisation as a whole Provide attractive content for a range of products and services Build brand positioning through associative imagery Support a sales promotion campaign Create internal emotional commitment to the brand Act as corporate hospitality that promotes good relations with clients. Economical and Community benefits to the Merseyside region Create long-term employment opportunities for the Merseyside region When Riley s hosted the PDC UK Open Amateur qualifiers, from their Merseyside clubs, they had an excellent turnout they also had an excellent turnout for the first-ever PDC U21 World Championship qualifiers (for players 15-21). Darts is a growing sport and a popular sport on Merseyside, with many excellent amateur players in the many darts leagues. The WDA want to create (hopefully) an annual event to bring the best darts players across the World to Merseyside to help produce the next generation of players. Merseyside is a county with many anti-social issues and with your help and through darts, we can help tackle this issue once and for all. We want your help to make the Merseyside Open a truly remarkable event for everyone. How you can help! The WDA are looking for sponsors/partners to help contribute to the prize fund. We are looking at a 500 top prize (for the first event), with an extra 100-200 for lower finishes (i.e. runner-up, semi-finals, etc ). Our current tournament fund is 300 (current as from Sept 2014). Our entrant fee will be 5 in advance or 6 on the day. We will also be looking to donate some of the entrant fees to our chosen charity. We are also looking for media partners to help advertise the event. Our advertising campaign will consist of radio advertising, posters (at train stations/bus stops), social media, host venue posters and local darts leagues. Hosting the event from Riley s Grand Central will allow us to reduce the equipment and catering costs, as this will be provided. Please contact us via email using wdaevents@ds-group.org.uk. We look forward to working with you.
Types of Sponsorships Types and Prices The following is a list containing the sponsorship level we are looking to gain. We hope this structure makes the Merseyside Open a success. We are not looking for excessive amounts of funding and we would accept sponsorship offers lower or not listed. Title Sponsor Your company name replaces Merseyside (e.g. The Your-Company Open). Your brand will be able use the event to help boost your turnover and profits. Having this sponsor will give your brand more public awareness and better your reputation. Your representative (if present) will award all the tournament awards. This level will be restricted to just one sponsor. Cost, 500 Event Sponsor Your company logo will appear on all the event documentation and logo. You can also send a representative to the event to help promote your brand further. Cost, 100 Supplier Sponsor In exchange for a small cost, you can set-up your own stall to sell your merchandise (You can keep all income). We will include your brand logo on the event documentation. Cost, 100 Media Partner In exchange for free advertising, we will help boost your brand with including your logo on the event documents and having your product on show throughout the event (i.e. newspaper copies or playing radio station). Our media partners can also include television broadcasters, to show our event across the world. Cost, FREE Event Partners This level is for charity organisations and local authorities. This will give you the opportunity to boost your brand. Charities can send down representatives to gain extra donations and local authorities (e.g. police, fire service) can set up a stall to help boost the public s confidence in your service. Cost, FREE We will use all sponsorship money for tournament use to make the event a special and successful one. If the event is cancelled (for unforeseen circumstances) all monies will be refunded (in full) the correct sponsor(s). If you would like to sponsor or partner the Merseyside Open; please contact us using the following e-mail, wdaevents@ds-group.org.uk, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
World Darts Association (WDA) Daniel Sidwell Director Maghull, Liverpool, Merseyide, L31 5JZ E-mail: wdaevents@ds-group.org.uk Mobile: 07531100042