Coventry City Council has agreed to loan £14m to Arena Coventry Limited (ACL), the company that runs and manages the Ricoh Arena. 

Coventry City have failed to pay £1m due in rent on the stadium and the city council has agreed a financial package to assist ACL, the company jointly-owned by the council and the Alan Edward Higgs Charity.

The move was unanimously agreed at a full council meeting, with the local authority explaining the move on their official website.

“Coventry councillors have voted unanimously to support a new loan arrangement for Arena Coventry Limited at a meeting of Full Council today (Tuesday 15 January),” read the statement.

“The meeting – held in private because of commercial confidentiality – saw councillors support a proposal for the Council to intervene to safeguard the Ricoh Arena – a publicly funded asset that has helped to drive growth and create jobs since it first opened.

“The move means the Council is effectively becoming banker to ACL, so that it can pay off its current loan arrangements with its existing bank. There is no net cost to the Council or Coventry taxpayers; the move will provide a modest surplus for the Council.

“As a result, the interest that ACL now pays on its loan will go to the Council, some of it helping to support jobs and services, the remainder helping to service the loan rather than to the bank.

“No cash is being put into CCFC by the Council as this would be unlawful and inappropriate.”

Cllr John Mutton, Leader of Coventry City Council, was upbeat about the plan.

“We have taken a decision that will benefit city taxpayers and secure the future of one of our most important and best loved public assets that brings great benefits to Coventry people,” he said.

“Not many councils would have done what we’ve done, but I’ve always believed that councils can – and should – be prepared to take bold and radical decisions when they are the right thing to do.

“It’s up to ACL and the club now to find a way forward on the rent issue; we know that ACL is totally committed to doing this, and we hope the club’s owners will be committed to doing so, too.”

Business tycoon Dr Marwan Koukash has revealed he is close to securing a deal to buy struggling Super League side, generic Salford City Reds.

Koukash, the owner of an executive training company EuroMaTech, said he hopes a deal can be struck in the very near future.

He told the St Helens Star: “My interest is very strong. There is still a lot of ongoing talks and agreements to be made but discussions are at an advanced stage.

“My plan is not just to save Salford but to turn it around, make it a competitive team – which is capable of winning trophies. Otherwise I would not be interested.

“I have a strategy for the club that will strengthen it and make it compete at the highest level and from a financial point of view to find ways of generating more outside income.

“I reiterate the most important thing is to save the club and to lead it into a financial position where it can compete at the highest level.”

Salford staved off the threat of liquidation at a court hearing in Manchester on 7 January and Koukash added: “The last time I saw a rugby match the atmosphere was great. Give me the choice of attending a rugby or a football match and I would choose rugby.

“Football could learn a lot from rugby.”

Kent has seen an 85% increase in the number of UK golfers booking golf packages and tee times since last year’s Open Championship at Royal St Georges Golf Club.

Shepherd Neame, viagra the renowned Kent-based brewer, discount pub and hotel operator, is among those offering accommodation for golf tourists and has invested significantly in its estate.

“We have always sought out opportunities within Kent, striving to offer the best quality proposition to golfers visiting our county in terms of both food and accommodation,” said Nigel Bunting, Retail Director at Shepherd Neame.

The additions to Shepherd Neame’s accommodation portfolio are further supplemented by The Lodge at Prince’s Golf Club that opened in May 2012 and, in the future, by a new 5* hotel and spa at The London Golf Club. 

“These establishments underline Kent’s status as a world-class golf destination with a wide range of accommodation for all tastes, budgets and lengths of stay,” added Nigel Bunting.

Golf Digest and Golf Channel, discount | two of the world’s most influential golf brands, arthritis and Chase Sapphire, a premier travel and dining rewards credit card from Chase, today announced Beyond the Tee, a multi-platform, multi-channel joint marketing initiative designed to reach millions of golf enthusiasts.

Beyond the Tee encourages golfers to share online invitations to offline activities with friends and family through a new Facebook application and by offering exclusive golf experiences.

“It’s all about enjoyment. People take plenty of time to make connections through social media,” said Golf Digest President & Publisher Peter K. Hunsinger. “But not often enough do those connections translate online interaction to in-person experiences. This program makes it easy for Chase Sapphire cardholders and Facebook users to get inspired by spectacular golf courses and then take action to create these real-life experiences with friends and family.”

Chase Sapphire offers cardholders premium travel and dining rewards and benefits as well as access to unique experiences. Golf is a passion point for Chase Sapphire cardholders and the driving force behind the brand’s strategic investment in golf partnerships.

“Many of our cardholders are passionate about golf, so Chase Sapphire is committed to providing the compelling experiences and content we know our customers want,” said Sean O’Reilly, general manager, Chase Card Services [NYSE: JPM]. “Our partnership with Golf Digest and the Golf Channel to create Beyond the Tee provides our cardholders with unique golf experiences, as well as the opportunity to connect and share their passion for the sport with friends and family.”

Consumers are invited to participate via the Beyond the Tee application on the Chase Sapphire Facebook page, which will be supported in the pages of Golf Digest both in print and on tablets. Beyond the Tee will also be included in Golf World, the weekly sister publication to Golf Digest, on GolfDigest.com, and TV creative will be featured on Golf Channel.

According to reports the FIA is believed to be on the verge of confirming an agreement for World Rally Championship television rights – at least until the end of the season.

The manufacturers and event organisers met with FIA president Jean Todt and WRC Commission president Jarmo Mahonen in Paris yesterday, with the likely outcome of the meeting being that the European Broadcast Union will take on the production and distribution of television from WRC rounds until the end of the season. A longer term agreement between EBU and the governing body has been talked about.

A source from within the manufacturers’ meeting said they were pleased with the possible EBU option.

“It sounds like a good way forward,” said the source. “The WRC needs the television to breathe, so we need to make this happen. The [EBU] will, we believe, take some of their own people to rallies and rely on some of them on the ground locally. Once they have made the pictures, EBU can then talk to its members in all countries in Europe about running them.”

Once EBU is in place, one of the first tasks will be the start renegotiating with key channels such as ITV4 in the UK, with which an agreement to broadcast the WRC had been reached with former promoter North One Sports.

The rally organisers in the WRC have now signed an agreement with the FIA confirming they will not do their own individual deals – a significant shift from the letter issued early last month from Mahonen telling organisers: “Each WRC organiser will, unfortunately, have to negotiate the television broadcasting of his event.”

Rally Sweden was the first event to do that – and did so successfully, with the event organisers reportedly turning a profit in excess of 100,000 euro ($131,474) from the second round of the series.

Rally New Zealand chairman Peter Johnston said: “We are very pleased to see a sound outcome from the present situation as the FIA takes the reins. With their co-ordination of the television media services, facilities and distribution, we can feel confident that the 2012 FIA World Rally Championship will continue to run to its usual high standards.”

by Ismail Uddin

Williams F1 chairman Adam Parr has warned the United Kingdom that it should not take the strength of motorsport engineering for granted.

Motorsport is estimated to be worth more than US$800m to the country’s economy and is responsible for approximately 4,000 engineering jobs.

Parr said: “It’s essential that industry, government and the sport itself thinks very carefully about what it does. If you look at countries like China they start off at the low-end of the value chain with cheap labour and then build up from there.

“Already they [China] are moving into airliners and sectors they wouldn’t have dreamt about 10 years ago”.

Parr took over the role of chairman in 2010 from Sir Frank Williams and feels there are still misconceptions about the reality of the Formula One industry.

He said: “There is a high degree of ignorance amongst politicians, leading business people and the public about what we do. Two years ago when we had a leading sponsor, the Royal Bank of Scotland, people in the media were saying it’s champagne swilling.

“But for every £1 of sponsorship we received from any UK company we spent £4.50 in the UK.

“We employ 500 people directly, over a six-year cycle we had 3,000 UK companies as suppliers, we are making a major contribution to the UK economy.”

Parr is adamant that any complacency would prove damaging to the health of the industry.

He added: “There are countries around the world that would saw off limbs to have a motorsport industry like we do. If we sit back and say aren’t we good at something, brilliant and confident, we will get slaughtered.”

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.