Objectives for Sponsorship of Gay Games IX: An Exploratory Case Study

Over the past three decades, sponsorship has evolved into a significant source of income within the sport and event management industry. A review of the literature reveals a substantial amount of work regarding this complex phenomenon. However, there has been very little research devoted to the sponsorship of amateur sporting events and entities, and even less devoted to sponsorship of sporting properties for members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgendered community. This exploratory case study was conceived with the intent to examine the objectives of organizations which sponsored Gay Games IX, an LGBT international sporting mega-event which garnered $4.16 million in sponsorships. Site observations, documents, and semi-structured interviews were employed to gather data. Findings indicated that objectives for sponsorship of the event included increasing brand awareness and image, strengthening of employee relations, and increasing sales. Limitations of the study are discussed and recommendations for future research are outlined.