Asian Le Mans has been hit with a major blow following news the series has been reduced from six to four races and the start will be delayed which is due to kick off next month in China.

The announcement came Tuesday by series organizers, along with the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, which confirmed the elimination of the Chinese rounds in Shanghai and Ordos, with the original season-opening race at Zhuhai now being moved to the third round in October.

The season will now begin at the new Autopia circuit in Inje, South Korea on Aug. 4, followed by rounds at Fuji Speedway (Sept. 22), Zhuhai (Oct. 13) and the season-ending race in Sentul, Indonesia (Dec. 8), as originally scheduled.

“After consultation with all stakeholders including teams and partners, the organizers of the Asian Le Mans Series, with the full support of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest, feel that due the current economic climate there is a strong demand from all parties to streamline the 2013 series in terms of both overall cost and number of races,” an official statement read.

Organizers have also decided to eliminate the GTE category in favor of a single GT class, GTC, which will be eligible for GT3-spec and Super GT300 cars, as well as various one-make Cup Series cars. The top two finishers in the GTC championship will now receive automatic invitations to the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours, eligible in GTE. 

The GTC category will be joined by LMP2 and LMPC as the other classes in the championship, which will also receive auto-invites.

The entry deadline for the series has been extended to June 20th. 

Golf management operator, KemperSports has announced that it has been selected by the board of directors at Rockford Country Club to provide turnkey management of the private, member-owned club in Rockford, Ill.

With this partnership, Rockford Country Club joins KemperCollection, KemperSports’ growing portfolio of private clubs.

“At this time in our club’s history, we must increase the value of membership and elevate the quality of service,” said Tom Valiulis, president of Rockford Country Club. “We look to the KemperSports team to deliver a first-class experience for our members and guests and expand our presence in and around Rockford.”

KemperSports will engage with local and regional organizations to strengthen relationships in the Rockford area and position Rockford Country Club as an integral part of the community.

“Rockford Country Club has a long and rich history in the Rockford area,” said Steve Skinner, chief executive officer of KemperSports. “Working with the membership, our team will put a plan in place to expand the club’s reputation throughout the community, grow the membership and ensure that all members find unmatched value in the club’s services and amenities.”

Rockford Country Club features an 18-hole, par-71 golf course overlooking the Rock River. The club was originally designed as a 9-hole course by Herbert James (H.J.) Tweedie in 1899. Today, more than 100 years later, Rockford Country Club includes an expansive clubhouse with a member grill, outdoor dining, banquet facilities, an Olympic-sized swimming pool and skeet house for skeet and trap shooting.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has auctioned the seven Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) teams for an average  of $(US)4.3 million, an SLC official said. 

The successful bidders and their respective teams will not be announced until they have been approved by SLC’s executive committee.

The prices of the franchises are considerably higher than those of the Bangladesh Premier League, where six teams were sold for a total of $(US)6.49 million.

The Indian Premier League’s first eight teams were sold for a total of $(US)723 million.The franchises will take part in the player drafton July 5 and 6. 

The SLPL will starts on August 10. There will be a total of 24 games in total, played in Colombo and Pallekele. {jcomments on}

The NFL’s Minnesota Vikings have secured an agreement to build a new stadium near the site of the Metrodome, pending approval from the Minneapolis City Council and the state Legislature.

Governor Mark Dayton was joined by State Legislators, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Mark and Zygi Wilf of the Minnesota Vikings, and business and labor leaders to announce the agreement to build a new “People’s Stadium.” 

The new stadium will be publicly owned, support more than 13,000 jobs, require no general fund tax dollars, and keep the Vikings in Minnesota for the next 30 years.

Governor Dayton said, “This agreement results from countless hours of analyses, discussions, and negotiations; and I thank everyone involved for an extraordinary effort. The project would provide up to 8000 construction jobs and an additional 5000 jobs among suppliers during its three years of construction, employ many more through its ongoing operations, and keep the Minnesota Vikings here for the next 30 years — all without using a single dollar of General Fund tax revenues. The stadium would be owned by the people of Minnesota and managed for their benefit year-round by a Public Authority.

“I respectfully urge the Minneapolis City Council and the Minnesota Legislature to vote their approval as soon as possible. Let’s put thousands of Minnesotans to work building our ‘People’s Stadium’.”

“We are pleased that those representatives of the Vikings, the City of Minneapolis and the state have successfully completed their negotiations to build a new stadium at the Metrodome site. We will now be working to finalize language for a new bill that will implement the proposed agreement,” said Rep. Morrie Lanning.

Senator Julie Rosen, said: “Keeping the Vikings in Minnesota is in the best interests of the state. This will be done without using any General Fund dollars that could go to our schools or nursing homes. It is a real win for the State of Minnesota.” 

“This solution simply makes sense. The site that has been the home of the Minnesota Vikings for the last 30 years will be its home for the next 30 years, in a publicly-owned, modern facility that takes advantage of the infrastructure in place and offers Minnesotans world-class sports and entertainment — right in Minneapolis,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak

“My constituents, like people across Minneapolis, want to get to work — and this is the single biggest action we’ve taken in the last decade to create jobs. The new stadium also secures Minneapolis’ place as the premier host city of the upper Midwest, and that means even more good jobs,” said Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson

“We are pleased to be able to join Governor Dayton, officials from the City of Minneapolis and our legislative leaders in offering this stadium agreement for consideration at the Capitol,” said Zygi Wilf, Vikings owner and chairman. “We believe this proposal offers significant benefits for the City, the State, our fans and the team, and we look forward to working with the City of Minneapolis and the State Legislature to pass a stadium bill this year.”

The Downtown East site includes the current Metrodome land with the addition of a game-day plaza on the stadium’s west side. The new “People’s Stadium,” estimated to be available for public use 355 days a year, will include a fixed-roof to allow year-round activities, 2,500 parking spaces adjacent to the stadium and a creative design including an attractive, functional interior similar to Target Field.

“This agreement represents true compromise and is a great step forward in achieving a long-term stadium solution in Minnesota,” said Mark Wilf, Vikings owner and president. “We appreciate the hard work from all of our partners in reaching this milestone, and we look forward to joining Governor Dayton, MSFC Chair Mondale, Minneapolis leaders and stadium bill authors to pass legislation that secures the long-term future of the Vikings in Minnesota and supports thousands of much-needed jobs.”

During the three-year building process, the project will support 13,000 jobs and require nearly 4.3 million work hours with nearly $300 million of the overall costs being wages for construction workers, boosting an industry currently suffering unemployment near 20%. As was the case with Target Field, over 90% of the labor and material cost will be invested back into the Minnesota economy. When combining the Vikings’ capital contribution with the team’s share of operating expenses/capital expenditures, the private contribution is more than half (50.6%) of the project’s life-cycle costs.

The stadium will be owned and operated by a new Stadium Authority, comprised of three members appointed by the Governor and two members appointed by the City of Minneapolis. The facility will be a statewide asset that can host year-round events, including high school sports and community programs from across the Minnesota, and national events like Major League Soccer, NCAA Final Fours, a Super Bowl and political conventions.

The stadium agreement is contingent upon legislative approval and the support of the Minneapolis City Council. Legislative authors expect to introduce stadium legislation on Monday, March 5. 

by Ismail Uddin

A three week registration window for the international general public to apply for UEFA Champions League final tickets has closed this weekend after opening on February 24.

According to UEFA.com, applicants will learn if they have been successful or not by April 6, with the allocation of tickets decided by lottery, in similar vain to the London 2012 Olympic Games process.

Each valid application will enter a ballot, regardless of the time of submission within the application period and successful candidates will be entitled to purchase a maximum of two tickets.

Hopeful candidates will be able to check the status of their application by logging into the ticket portal from 6th April – with tickets delivered no later than Saturday 30th April.

UEFA has also underlined that no tickets will be distributed through agencies or brokers, and UEFA is encouraging fans not to purchase tickets through touts.

English football is well represented once again in the quarter finals with 3 clubs from the Premier League, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham qualifying. Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid join Ukraine’s Shakhtar, Germany’s Schalke and last years champions and Italian Serie A side Inter Milan.

The PGA Tour announced that Rolex has become a Global Partner of The Presidents Cup in an agreement that extends through 2015, covering the next three biennial matches.

This is an expansion of the PGA Tour’s long-standing, existing relationship with Rolex, in which it is the “Official Timekeeper of the PGA Tour” and “Official Sponsor of the World Golf Championships.” Rolex joins Citi, which became a Global Partner of The Presidents Cup in October 2008 for the 2009, 2011 and 2013 events.

As part of a multi-year agreement, Rolex will benefit from exposure across a broad array of PGA Tour media and marketing assets including: advertising and in-program enhancements on Golf Channel and NBC during television coverage of The Presidents Cup; strategic onsite branding, including prominent placement of Rolex-branded clocks at tee locations throughout the event course; onsite hospitality for Rolex’ commercial and consumer clients; and extensive exposure on tour-related media.

“The Rolex brand is synonymous with excellence and is one that has matched perfectly with the PGA Tour through a variety of official relationships over the past six years,” said Tom Wade, PGA Tour Chief Marketing Officer.

“We are thrilled to build upon this connection with Rolex as they now become a Global Partner of The Presidents Cup. The global nature of The Presidents Cup is a perfect fit for a prestigious, expansive brand such as Rolex, and we are confident that the awareness, reach and prestige of both will benefit through this partnership.”

“The Presidents Cup is one of the most prestigious sporting events in the world, and we are thrilled to support it as a Global Partner.” said Jean-Noël Bioul, Rolex International Sponsorship Director. “The level of play showcased by the teams at The Presidents Cup is a perfect extension of our brand’s key values: Precision, endurance and performance.”

The Presidents Cup 2011 returns to The Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Nov. 17-20, 2011. The 2013 event will be staged at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The Presidents Cup 2015 will be staged either in South Korea, Japan, India, South Africa or Argentina, which are all now going through a bid process.