No Harvey: Harvey Norman’s logo will not longer be emblazoned across the screens at State of Origin.
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The news Harvey Norman was dropping the sponsorship of State of Origin league games between Sydney V Queensland after 15 years, emerged Friday.
NRL is now looking for a new sponsor for the hugely popular event from 2013.
The agreement to end the deal between the retailer and NRL after 15 years was “mutual”, Harvey Norman chief operating officer John Slack-Smith told The Telegraph.
The deal is believed to be worth $3m.
The dropping of Origin sponsorship is no surprise considering Harvey’s precarious position in the CE trade, with annual profits slumping 32%.
Smith also insisted the retailer will still have a “broad range of involvement with the game” and will remain the offical retailer of NRL and Origin, as well as continuing sponsorship of pre-season All Stars games.
“The partnership with the NRL and State of Origin over 15 years has been outstanding,” he added.
The NRL also reckon there will be plenty of other companies looking to fill the space left by Gerry Harvey’s company.
Harvey previously backed the Melbourne Storms and recently sponsored Foxtel’s coverage of the London Olympic Games.
“We discussed with the Harveys the incredible value of State of Origin and agreed to take it to the market from 2013.
We’re extremely confident there will be enormous interest,” a NRL spokesperson told The Daily Telegraph.
