Sochi inks deal; tops $1 bln in sponsorship revenue

Organisers of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics topped $1 billion in domestic sponsorship revenue on Friday, putting the group more than three times ahead of its initial target.

The organisers, with four years to go before the Games open, pierced the level after inking a sponsorship deal with Russian Railways RZD, which joins state-run oil giant Rosneft on the list of other major domestic sponsors.

Sochi Games chief Dmitry Chernyshenko denied the deals were part of a back-door way to get government aid.

"Absolutely not," Chernyshenko told Reuters in Vancouver, where he and other officials are studying how their Canadian counterparts are handling operations during the 2010 Games.

"I expect that we will probably not use public funds or government money, we will stay with the partnership investment only," he added, speaking through a translator.

The sponsorship funding could be particularly important because the Russian government said last year it was slashing its state budget for the 2014 Games by more than $600 million due to the global economic crisis.

Sochi officials valued the new deal at C$115 million, bringing the total value of domestic sponsorship revenues to $1.1 billion, according to Chernyshenko.

Russian Railways joins Sochi's eight other Tier One partners, which include Rostelecom, Megafon, Rosneft Sberbank, Aeroflot, Volkswagen and Bosco Sport.