(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-11-26 15:27

CHENGDU -- The western Chinese city Chengdu, which has been exploring innovative methods in developing sports industry in the city, made a major step forward by launching the Chengdu Sport Bureau (CSB) Partnership Program on Monday.

The CSB Partnership Program is innovative and leads among all sport administrations in China, said a CSB spokesman in Monday's press conference.

Meanwhile, he added, Chengdu has become the first Chinese city that carries out a partnership program covering all its sports resources, which will eventually change the traditional model on sport sponsorship; create new concepts and set up new "benchmark" in China and the world as well.

As the initial stage of the Partnership Program, the tangible and intangible assets of the CSB have been identified and evaluated by the International Management Group (IMG).

Based on these research and evaluations, partnership platforms and benefit package have been designed and confirmed. Now it comes to the stage of communicate the CSB partnership program which will benefit, in a long-term, the CSB, the partners and the Chengdu citizens as well, said IMG Global head Carlos Canto.

The Partnership Program will offer future partners with a "package" of platforms and generate long term economy and social impacts and opportunities to increase awareness and loyalty in Chengdu, Canto added.

The CSB Program will provide all-dimensional, wide-ranged and "tailor-made" platforms to partners to ensure their comprehensive and multi-channel rights and benefits, which have been formulated based on all CSB venues and facilities, events, campaigns and etc.

These long-term rights and benefits include: branding, sampling, venue access and hospitality, events, first right to negotiate, business generation opportunities, partners events, responsible social image and etc.

CSB has appointed IMG as the exclusive agent for the sales phase of Chengdu Sports Bureau Partnership Program.