The event's executive director, Tony Michaels, told Freep on Tuesday that the organizers of the show have managed to strike a deal with one of its longest running partners, Chevrolet. Although the details of the agreement were not announced, bringing Chevy on board marks a major turning point for Woodward.
Until Thursday, when Chevrolet is expected to make the official announcement regarding the sponsorship, there's little to go by when trying to imagine what the automaker will be offering in exchange for the right to advertise its products.
The Woodward Dream Cruise, an annual event which takes place on the third Saturday of August (this year, that's August 20), is the world’s largest one-day automotive event, seeing some 1.5 million people and 40,000 cars from around the world taking part.
Even with these numbers in their pockets, sponsors have been reluctant in bidding for a place in the middle of the crowd. The last major sponsor of the event, MotorCity Casino Hotel, decided to back out this year, taking the $75,000 in funding, which it may redirect towards supporting the Ferndale Pride 2011 gay parade.
“We’ve decided to refocus our sponsorship and are looking at some other opportunities to impact communities in another way,” the casino's spokeswoman Jacci Wood was quoted as saying by the Daily Tribune.
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