This is one corporate sponsored event that should have been squashed.
Despite receiving a whopping $28 billion in federal taxpayer funds, JPMorgan Chase and American Express spent $125,000 to sponsor a weeklong squash tournament at Grand Central Terminal.
The six-day event – known as the “Tournament of Champions” – ended Jan. 29 and drew about 200,000 fans to what was billed as one of the “world’s premier squash championships” at the same time as lawmakers on Capitol Hill were denouncing wasteful Wall Street spending.
Reps at JPMorgan Chase declined to specify how much it spent on the tournament, but a source close to the deal told Fox News Channel it was roughly $100,000.
American Express officials also declined to provide an amount, but the company is believed to have spent $25,000, a source told Fox News Channel.
Critics have said companies should not be sponsoring sporting events if they’re getting federal bailout money.
“It’s frustrating for the average American taxpayer to see corporations who received federal bailout funding to be spending money on events like this,” said David Williams, vice president of policy for Citizens Against Governmental Waste.
“It’s not a huge dollar amount, but sends a strong signal that while people are sacrificing, corporations aren’t.”
JPMorgan Chase and American Express defended the sponsorship.
“We’re being vigilant to all costs, sponsorships included,” said JPMorgan Chase spokesman Brian Marchiony. “We constantly evaluate events as they come up for renewal.”
Marchiony said JPMorgan Chase “inherited” the sponsorship from Bear Stearns, which was sold to JPMorgan Chase last March for an estimated $240 million.
Joanna Lambert, a spokeswoman for American Express, called the tournament a “very minor” sponsorship for the company, which has not committed to the event for next year.
“This sponsorship was a great opportunity to reach our corporate clients who engage in this sport and an opportunity to get some visibility at a high-profile New York event,” she said.