Nike inks U.S. Open deal

Nike, Inc. has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the U.S. Open of Surfing, IMG Action Sports corporation announced Tuesday.

Nike, which features brands such as Hurley, Nike 6.0 and Converse, already began sponsoring the U.S. Open in 2009. Last year’s event featured an estimated 500,000 fans, as well as a record $100,000 first-place prize won by Surf City’s own Brett Simpson.

Hurley was the title sponsor of the U.S. Open of Surfing, which also features concerts and BMX bike racing, a year ago. The specific terms of the new sponsorship agreement were not announced.

“As we saw last year, there’s no better ‘surf stadium’ than Huntington Beach,” Hurley founder and chairman Bob Hurley said in a release. “We’re always looking to improve the experience both in the water and sand, and we’re excited to continue working with Nike 6.0 and Converse to help make that happen in 2010 and beyond.”

The bigger payday a year ago also helped bring in surf legends like nine-time world champion Kelly Slater and three-time world champion Andy Irons. That level of competition helped make Simpson’s hometown victory all the more special.

IMG Action Sports, a division of IMG Worldwide, owns and produces the U.S. Open of Surfing. Then called the West Coast Surfing Championships, it was first held in 1959. It was eventually named the U.S. Open of Surfing in 1994.

Held at the Huntington Beach Pier each summer, it’s the world’s largest professional surfing competition. It is also a six-star event on the World Qualifying Series portion of the Assn. of Surfing Professionals World Tour.

This year, the event is scheduled for July 31 to Aug. 8.

“Some of our best creative work comes out of the collaboration of our three brands,” said Sandy Bodecker, vice president of Global Designs and Action Sports for Nike, Inc., in a statement. “Our goal is to help transform the U.S. Open into one of the most exciting sporting moments of the summer.”