The Anaheim City Council have unanimously approved the issuance of US$75m in bonds in a move that lays the groundwork for the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Sacremento Kings to move to Honda Center next season.

The bonds will pay for $25m for Honda Center upgrades and $50m in working capital, money that could help pay for the Kings’ relocation fees.

None of the bond money comes from Anaheim’s general fund or from taxpayers.

The bonds will be purchased by private investment firms – headed by National Hockey League’s (NHL) Anaheim Ducks Owner Henry Samueli – and “paid back during a 10-year period”.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat claims that the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 had demonstrated that 50-over cricket has a long and successful future ahead of it.

Speaking before an audience of diplomats, business leaders and journalists, Lorgat said: “I had confidently predicted to the media on 1 February that this ICC Cricket World Cup would be the perfect showcase for the 50-over format to answer the critics and I had proclaimed that ‘ODI cricket is alive and well’.

“I am pleased – and naturally relieved – to say that so far the statements I have made have proven to be correct.

“The evidence to prove that 50-over cricket is far from finished has been plentiful. The television audiences have been the biggest in history and the India v England match in Bengaluru on 27 February is the most watched game in the history of ODIs… and it doesn’t take a genius to predict that when India faces Pakistan in Mohali on Wednesday that record may well be smashed.

“And the crowds have been outstanding. Most of us would have been at R Premadasa Stadium on Saturday to watch a full-house celebrate as Sri Lanka cruised into the semi-final. No one that night was questioning the future of 50-over cricket nor will they in Chandigarh on Wednesday and nor were they in Bangladesh where the stadiums continued to be packed even after the home team went out of the competition.”

Mr Lorgat added that research conducted by the ICC had shown that there was still enormous support for 50-over cricket but had also demanded more context and content for ODIs.

He said: “This World Cup clearly has context and we also have great content. The scoring-rate of more than five runs an over has been the highest in history. Records have tumbled and heroes continue to be made at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

“The meaning of the World Cup is building. Can any one of India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka repeat the glory of their predecessor teams or will New Zealand make an even greater narration by writing its name boldly into the history of the game. Who will it be?

“There is something hugely significant at stake – not only for the teams but also for their countries. Can you just imagine what the reception would be like here in Colombo and across this island if Kumar Sangakkara and his team brings home the CWC trophy from Mumbai?

“It would be one of those moments when breath is taken away – not just for the players but for everyone in this country.

“And the same would apply to the other three countries. There is nothing quite like nation v nation cricket when national pride is at stake on a global stage.

“In Mohali, there will be another massive factor that would add to the context. I personally hope to see the mighty power of sport and in particular the Great Spirit of cricket providing a platform for the governments of India and Pakistan to come together around an ICC Cricket World Cup semi-final.

“I heard someone say yesterday that ‘cricket diplomacy is better than no diplomacy’,  and another said that ‘cricket will create harmony’.

“A part of the ICC vision is to  ‘build bridges between continents, countries and communities’.  If this happens it will truly be fantastic and just reward for a sport that has Great Spirit.”

He added: “When we started this ICC Cricket World Cup our promotional campaign talked of 14 teams competing in 49 matches for one trophy.

“That trophy – for players, administrators, spectators alike – is The Cup that Counts – a 50-over competition.”

American football, hospital the most watched sport in the US, cialis could be cancelled next year over a long-running dispute between owners and players, which a union leader warns this weekend will almost certainly result in a lockout beginning in March.

The executive director of the National Football League players union said a player lockout next season is a “near certainty,” and that it would cost the U.S. economy an estimated $5 billion in lost wages, taxes and other revenue if the entire season is canceled.

In an interview on Bloomberg Television, union chief DeMaurice Smith said if NFL owners lock out players in order to get concessions in a labor dispute, it would be devastating to local communities as the country struggles with a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

“The magnitude of the loss would be at the very least about $160 million to $170 million per team-city,” Smith said. “That is a conservative estimate of the economic impact.”

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello challenged Smith’s numbers, saying they came from union projections rather than a government agency, investment bank or noted economist.

“It is a series of numbers pulled from thin air in a misguided attempt to inject politics into the collective bargaining process,” Aiello said in an e-mail. “There is a fair deal to be done and soon if the union will bargain with the same fervor it displays in creating economic fairy tales.”

NFL owners voted unanimously in May 2008 to opt out of their labour contract with the players at the end of this season – two years early. The players were satisfied with the agreement and wanted to complete the contract.

If the lockout goes ahead, players will stop being paid from March onwards. The annual draft, a high-profile event where teams select new players, would go ahead in the spring, but the training camps that begin in the summer would not happen.

The next season is scheduled to begin on 9 September. Unlike baseball and basketball, the playing season is relatively short, ending on 2 January, with the Super Bowl the following month, and teams play relatively few games.

One compromise under consideration is that the season be extended from 16 games to 18, which would give the players extra money to make up for the pay cut, but would mean two more games, with attendant injury risks. Unlike association football, the average career of a professional American football player is only 3.6 seasons.

Stockholm have ended their bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics with the Swedish city’s ruling Moderate party saying on Friday that investing in the Games was not attractive enough.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in November that six cities, including former summer Games hosts Beijing and Stockholm, had launched bids to stage the 2022 event.

“Arranging a Winter Olympics would mean a big investment in new sports facilities, for example for the bobsleigh and luge,” the Moderate party said in a statement.

“There isn’t any need for that type of that kind of facility after an Olympics.”

Norway capital Oslo, which hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics, is also among those in the running, along with Krakow in Poland, Kazakhstan’s Almaty and Ukraine’s Lviv.

“Although the calculations are well worked out, we estimate that revenues will likely be lower and costs higher than the investigation indicates,” said Stockholm city council chairman and finance commissioner Sten Nordin.

“With more time to the date of application, it is possible that finding other solutions might have been possible. Stockholm is a winter sports town and I am open to staging the Winter Olympics in the future,” he said.

“Unfortunately we are of the opinion that it’s not realistic to make a bid for the 2022 Olympics,” he later told Sveriges Radio.

Stockholm’s refusal to back an Olympic bid is reminiscent of the Italian government pulling out of a bid by Rome for the 2020 Olympics two years ago over similar financial fears.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has revealed today their online coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics will be most comprehensive ever with over 300 hours of live sport. 

In addition to covering both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies live from Sochi in HD, the IPC website will feature four HD channels showing live and uninterrupted daily coverage of alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling. A fifth HD channel will broadcast a mixture of all sports and all five channels will feature English commentary. 

Following the conclusion of competition each day, all the sporting action including individual matches from ice sledge hockey and wheelchair curling, will be made available as video on demand via the IPC’s YouTube channel ParalympicSport.TV. Highlights packages from each sport will also be made available. 

Supporting the live and on-demand video streams will be live results, whilst a team of writers will produce daily in-depth previews and reviews of all five sports, together with interviews with leading athletes. It is estimated around 150 stories will be uploaded to the IPC’s website during the Games. 

Craig Spence, the IPC’s Director of Communications, said: “Our aim at Sochi 2014 is to cover the Games and all sports from every single angle with a mixture of live action, live results and in-depth previews and reports. It will be our most comprehensive coverage of a Paralympic Winter Games to date. 

“We are determined to build on the success of London 2012 when the IPC website received a record number of visitors and #paralympics was Twitter’s number one trending sporting event of the year. 

“To achieve this goal, visitors to our various online platforms will also be taken behind the scenes at the Games and given an exclusive flavour of the day-to-day activities of competing athletes.”

IMG Worldwide, ed the global sports, decease fashion and media company, store announced they have acquired the IGP Sports & Entertainment Group, strengthening its resources both in the American market and globally.

The acquisition will see IGP’s properties, including management of the Honda Classic, and its experienced staff led by 27-year industry veteran Kenneth R. Kennerly, join IMG’s Golf division immediately.

Having transformed the Honda Classic into one of the premier events on the PGA TOUR, Kennerly will head up IMG Golf’s North American events division as the company continues to bolster its event business in North America and around the world. The acquisition also marks the opening of a new IMG Golf office in North Palm Beach, Florida. A number of key staff will relocate from other IMG offices to work in this new IMG Golf office, providing a strong presence in this important golf market.

“IMG has had great respect over the years for Ken Kennerly and the business he built,” said Guy Kinnings, Senior Vice President and Global Head of IMG Golf. “His staff at IGP brings over 100 years of combined management and production experience to our existing global talents, and just as importantly, allows us to create an instant presence in South Florida, a market that has always been very important in the professional golf industry and where a number of our clients are based.  We look forward to integrating a number of our key staff with Ken and his staff to create an office in South Florida that will be of great benefit to IMG Golf’s clients and business partners.”

After experience early in his career working for two sports marketing agencies in Washington, Kennerly moved to South Florida in 1993 to work for Jack Nicklaus’ Golden Bear International. He started IGP in 1996, and acquired Executive Sports, a company that ran tournaments on the PGA, LPGA and Champions Tours. In 2006, Kennerly and his team began running The Honda Classic, and not only re-established it as one of the top tournaments on the PGA TOUR, but generated record charitable donations and more than $40 Million in economic impact for the local community each year. The acquisition will also see IMG take over management of the Web.com Tour’s Mid-Atlantic Championship in Washington, D.C.

Last month, the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame honored Kennerly and his team as its Sports Contributor of the Year for their success operating the Honda Classic each year, and recognizing the tournament’s impact on the South Florida community.  In June, the Honda Classic will be awarded the 2013 Bing Crosby Tournament Sponsor Award by the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association. The award is presented to an individual or organization that promotes and supports the game of golf through commercial sponsorship of quality events.

“As someone who built his own business in golf, I have always marvelled at IMG and their impact in all areas of the industry around the globe,” said Kennerly. “Anyone who works in the sports management and marketing business recognizes that IMG was the founder of this industry and working for IMG has been a goal of mine from the earliest days of my career. I’m especially excited about the chance to continue having an impact in the local Palm BeachCounty community but now also on the national and international stage, thanks to IMG’s global presence.”

Miami Dolphins owner Stephen M. Ross announced today that he is prepared to fund the majority of costs for proposed improvements to Sun Life Stadium that will make the facility competitive for hosting future Super Bowls, college championship games, the Pan Am Games, professional soccer, and other premier sports and entertainment events.

Ross stated that private funds would cover the majority of construction costs, which would create more than 4,000 local jobs for South Florida across various industries.  The modernization plan would position Sun Life Stadium to continue competing for elite events without proposing any tax increases on Miami-Dade residents. 

“I bought this team because I love this town. I went to high school here and built much of my business here,” said Ross.  “Like most Miamians, I believe no other community in America represents a better destination for blockbuster events. My goal is to secure the future of Miami-Dade and theDolphins so we can remain a global competitor for sports and entertainment for at least another 25 years.  That’s why I’m willing to make the initial and most substantial investment in this project.”

Ross was joined at the announcement by Dolphins CEO Mike Dee, University of Miami Interim Athletic Director Blake James, Orange Bowl President & Chairman Andrew Hertz, CEO Eric Poms, and Board Member Al Dotson, Jr., Super Bowl Host Committee Chairman Rodney Barreto and Pan American Games Bid Committee Chairman Ralph Garcia-Toledo.   

“A world-class community deserves world-class facilities,” said Barreto.  “We are fortunate to have a person like Steve Ross who is willing to invest to help ensure the future of big events for Miami.”

The Orange Bowl Committee, who will spearhead South Florida’s efforts to bid on future championship games, also expressed support for the efforts.  “There will be a lot of competition as we bid to host future college football championship games,” said Hertz. “We’re ready to compete, and we need to put South Florida’s best foot forward in all areas, including the facility, which we anticipate will be a key component of any bid package.  If this proposed modernization were to move forward, we believe South Florida will have a better total package to offer than any community in the country.”

The proposed modernizations for Sun Life Stadium will also return the stadium to the original configurations that were compromised to accommodate baseball, giving fans a much improved football experience with better sightlines from every seat in the house.

Other major upgrades include: More comfortable seats, New seating closer to the field, State-of-the art HD video screens, An open-air canopy that shields fans from elements while preserving the natural grass playing surface, HD sports lighting, Modern escalators and elevators for fan transportation and Updated kitchens for better concession options.

“Our intention is to make Sun Life Stadium a world-class facility that is competition-ready for Super Bowls, college football championships, and global soccer events, as well as providing a much better environment to watch the Dolphins, Hurricanes and Orange Bowl every year,” Ross said.  “I think our planned modernization will maintain the special outdoor flavor of Miami, while giving us the look of the best stadiums around the world.”

English Super League team, Salford City Reds were today granted a stay of execution as talks were set to get under way to rescue the ailing Super League club.

A winding-up petition brought before the Manchester District Registry of The High Court Of Justice by former players Luke Patten and Vinnie Anderson and HM Revenue and Customs was adjourned for a second time, this time by a month until February 4.

That is three days after the City Reds are due to play their opening match of Super League XVIII against Wigan at the Salford City Stadium.

A Salford spokesman said the hearing was adjourned after the court heard that talks with a potential investor were due to take place today.

Chairman John Wilkinson, who is ready to step aside after almost 30 years at the helm, welcomed today’s adjournment.

He said: “Everyone is working every available hour to ensure that the ongoing negotiations progress forward into an outcome that secures the future success of the Salford Rugby League Club.

“We appreciate what a stressful time this is for staff, players and supporters and thank you all for your patience and understanding. What today’s ruling provides is the time needed to secure the investment and we are grateful for the opportunity to do so.

“One thing is foremost in our minds – Salford’s rugby club must continue for the fans of today to enjoy and for the generations of fans to come.”

The winding-up petition was originally brought by management consultants Steuer Greggson over an unpaid bill but taken over by Patten and supported by HMRC when the club settled with the Cheshire-based company.

The petition was heard on October 29 and adjourned until today when HMRC took over as the main creditor with a debt thought to be close to £300,000. The two former players are owed around £70,000.

“HMRC are now in the driving seat,” Patten’s manager Richard Cramer told Press Association Sport.

Wilkinson estimates the club need £600,000 to survive the new season but a rescue plan collapsed in December when local councillors voted against a proposed £750,000 loan.

Development company Peel Holdings, who with the local authority are joint owners of the Salford City Stadium, were prepared to match the council loan and are due to take part in talks today with a potential buyer.

The Rugby Football League, led by chief executive Nigel Wood, are also heavily involved in the rescue plan, featuring an unnamed businessman who is thought to be interested in investing in the Super League club.

Organisers of the Hong Kong Open golf tournament hope to secure additional government funding to help fill a sponsorship shortfall of about $2.75 million.

The event is run by the Hong Kong Golf Association and has been without a naming rights or title sponsor since its deal with USB ended in 2010.

The Association’s head, Iain Valentine, said the organisation will approach the Government’s Mega Events Fund to seek funding.

It is understood the event secured $1.03 million in funding from the Mega Events Fund to help run last year’s tournament.

Other reports say that watch company Omega had considered the sponsorship but was more interested in other sponsorship opportunities in China.

China also hosts the increasingly-popular BMW Masters and the HSBC Championships.

Major sponsorship of The Singapore Open will soon be available after financial services company Barclays announced it would end its sponsorship this year.{jcomments on}