Bear Stearns Returns as Title Sponsor of Tournament of Champions

Bear Stearns, a leading investment banking, securities trading and brokerage firm, is returning for the fifth consecutive year as title sponsor of North America's largest professional squash event, the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions.

The prestigious PSA Tour Super Series Silver event, to be played from 10-16 January 2008, is the only annual sporting event held in Grand Central Terminal, a favourite championship venue of the world's top squash professionals. The championship features some of the world's fittest athletes, competing for one of the sport's most prized titles on a portable, four-walled glass court in Vanderbilt Hall.

"We are delighted that we can return to Grand Central Terminal for our 14th year of bringing the world's best squash players to New York City," said John Nimick, President of tournament promoter Event Engine. "Vanderbilt Hall is a spectacular physical setting, and equally importantly, provides the players with the rare opportunity to showcase their sport to the public spectators who pass through Grand Central Terminal."

The Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions continues to be the largest squash spectator event in the world with its unique combination of reserved seating and public viewing by what is expected to be 150,000 Grand Central commuters during tournament week. The championship debuted as the US Professional Championship in 1930 and was renamed the Tournament of Champions when it was presented in 1993 at the Winter Garden in the World Financial Center.

It then moved to Grand Central Terminal in 1995, where its annual presence since has been interrupted only by the Terminal's renovation from 1996-1998. The Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions has truly lived up to its name - all but one of the titleholders has also been number one in the world rankings, or a World Champion.

A PSA Super Series event for men, the Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions features a 32-player main draw and a 32-player qualification tournament. The Vanderbilt Hall championship presentation will have gallery seating for 500 as well as free viewing for the public.

Rated by Forbes magazine as the No1 healthiest sport, based on cardio-respiratory endurance, muscular strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, calories burned and risk of injury, squash was first played in England more than 100 years ago. It is now a popular sport in more than 120 countries. There are 15 million squash players worldwide and 400,000 in the United States. Squash is contested in all the major international multi-sport regional games and is on the short list of sports applying for inclusion in the Olympics.

The Bear Stearns Tournament of Champions is operated by Event Engine, Inc., the largest commercial squash promotional company in the world. Event Engine, Inc. also produces major squash championships in Toronto and Boston, and METROSquash with Sue at the Field Museum in Chicago.