The Super Bowl XLV host committee has revealed the names of seven of the nine US$1 million founding sponsors currently under contract.

The 2011 Super Bowl is due to be held at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas in February, and a target of 15 US$1 million founding sponsors has been set. The committee, headed by chief executive Bill Lively, has secured nine US$1 million deals overall. A tenth contract is being finalised by lawyers while an 11th is due to be announced later this month.

Lively is confident the US$15 million target will be reached but did concede that times were tougher than usual. "The economy has slowed us down," he said. "No one is immune to the effects of this downturn. If it had been two years ago, I suspect we'd have been finished with all 15 founding sponsors by now." 

The 15 major sponsors will pay for about half of the committee's estimated budget of nearly $30 million for the 2011 game. That is likely to be a Super Bowl record. Next year's Super Bowl will be held at the Miami Dolphins' LandShark Stadium, renamed earlier this year.

Rodney Barreto, chairman of the South Florida Super Bowl Host Committee for the 2010 event said: "We're on target. I feel very comfortable with where we are today." However, he did acknowledge that his committee's target was not as high as that set by the 2011 committee.

The first seven confirmed $1 million founding sponsors for Super Bowl XLV:

BNSF Railway: The railroad giant, also known as Burlington Northern Santa Fe, is based in Fort Worth and has been around for more than 150 years. Its first-quarter freight revenue for this year was $3.31 billion.

Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau: This not-for-profit corporation promotes Dallas tourism and markets the city. It also shares a suite at Cowboys Stadium with the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Fluor: The fourth largest company in North Texas, the Irving-based infrastructure services company had revenue of US$5.8 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Hillwood: The real estate firm responsible for large developments in both Dallas and Fort Worth.

Jones Lang LaSalle: This international real estate services firm became a founding sponsor when it purchased Staubach Co. last year. Roger Staubach is the president of the Super Bowl XLV host committee and was one of the first $1 million sponsors.

Mr. and Mrs. T. Boone Pickens: Pickens is the billionaire oil and gas mogul who has recently championed natural gas-powered vehicles and has donated at least US$300 million to his alma mater Oklahoma State University.

Ted and Shannon Skokos: Skokos is a former Arkansas lawyer and founded a heart-valve manufacturing firm and several telecommunications companies. His wife is a former Miss Arkansas and founder of the Miss Virgin Islands Scholarship Organization.