KSL Capital Partners, capsule LLC (“KSL”) announced today that it has acquired The Belfry, a renowned hotel and golf resort in Wishaw, Sutton Coldfield, North Warwickshire, England.

Located near England’s two largest cities, London and Birmingham, by both car and train, The Belfry features seven food and beverage outlets, a 25,000-square-foot fitness center, a spa and 20,000 square feet of meeting space. Spread across 550 acres, the 324 room property is the world’s only four time host of The Ryder Cup, having held the tournament in 1985, 1989, 1993 and 2002, on its world famous golf course, The Brabazon. The Belfry is also home to the PGA National Golf Academy and, in addition to The Brabazon, features two additional golf courses – PGA National, England’s only PGA branded golf course, and The Derby.

KSL plans a comprehensive renovation of the hotel, including the public areas, guest rooms, dining outlets and meeting spaces to enhance the overall guest experience. Given the unique and expansive nature of the resort campus with multiple guest room buildings, conference locations and food and beverage outlets, The Belfry will remain fully open during the renovation.

The resort will be managed by a subsidiary of the De Vere Group, which through its brands De Vere Hotels, Venues and VILLAGE, owns and operates 62 refreshingly different locations with a modern British flavor throughout the United Kingdom. The De Vere Group previously owned and managed the resort prior to its sale in 2005 to the seller, an affiliate of The Quinn Group.

“The Belfry has a proud heritage and is widely known as the ‘spiritual home of The Ryder Cup,’ and we are honored to be the next stewards of this great property,” said Richard Weissmann, one of KSL’s partners. “Given KSL’s experience owning and operating large scale golf and spa resorts across the United States, The Belfry is the perfect opportunity for our first resort investment in Europe. We believe De Vere’s familiarity with today’s European travelers combined with our planned renovations will provide guests of The Belfry a new level of luxury, service and amenities.”

In a recent survey two Olympic TOP sponsors were found to be in the “premier league” of agencies to work with in a survey.

The survey was conducted by UK research firm Bonamy Finch and given to 400 advertising executives from around the world. It asked them to rank 27 corporations on desirability to work with.

Adidas and Coca-Cola were the Olympic sponsors deemed easiest to work with, viagra sale while Apple, viagra Google, discount Nike, and Volkswagen rounded out the “premier league” of agencies.

TOP sponsors Procter & Gamble along with Visa were also included in the survey, but fell in the mid-range of the results. 

Nike, a USOC sponsor, was the only company to not receive any “very undesirable” votes.

Nascar might be doing well on the track with high television ratings but with a plummeting economy, teams are struggling to compete in the sport with redundancies becoming a regular occurrence.

Several teams are contemplating layoffs during a downturn in the economy, when sponsorship has become harder to secure. The most prudent example came this week, when Turner Motorsports released Nationwide Series championship contender Reed Sorenson and advised employees it might downsize at the end of the season, after sponsor Dollar General announced it would not return in 2012.

Nascar Chairman Brian France said Sunday he’s not oblivious to teams’ financial concerns, but he remains optimistic the economy will not cause long-term problems for the sport.

“I’ve always said I’m not an economist,” France said, “but I know what you know, and it’s very difficult out there for companies, and people in general, and that has an impact on us.”

France said the one positive that comes from teams downsizing is it creates opportunities for other teams contemplating a move to NASCAR’s top tier.

“We’ll see in the offseason teams thinking about moving up that didn’t want to because there wasn’t availability or they couldn’t make an event,” France said. “I hope everybody comes back, I hope everybody gets what they need to compete, but if the economy is difficult, it does allow opportunities for others. I guess that’s the only silver lining to it.”

Also negotiations have begun with Sprint to remain the title sponsor of NASCAR’s top tier. Sprint is in the eighth year of a 10-year, $750 million contract.

The struggling wireless carrier, based in suburban Kansas City, posted its 15th consecutive quarterly loss in July. The nation’s third-largest carrier also reported more contract customers defecting to rivals AT&T and Verizon than some analysts had expected.

France said: “It’s a program that’s worked well for them and we’re in a time where we’re having those kinds of discussions about extending the relationship. My hope is that we will.”

The decision to reinstate the Bahrain Grand Prix may well prove to be a swiftly rescinded one according to Formula One rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone, who admitted yesterday, June 8, that the F1 teams opposition of the rescheduling is likely to see the race dropped from the 2011 calendar after all.

The International Motorsport Federation’s (FIA) voted to reschedule the previously postponed race, pegged to be the season opener in March, for October 30, in turn pushing the date and indeed preparation deadlines for the new Indian Grand Prix back until December 11, becoming the season-ending race.

The civil unrest in the Gulf nation which saw the initial Grand Prix postponed still hangs over Bahrain and Ecclestone has now acknowledged that the race’s precarious slot on the 2011 calendar looks doomed after F1 teams opposed the race being reinstated to the schedule.

Ecclestone told the BBC: “Hopefully there will be peace and quiet and we can return in the future, but of course it’s not on. The schedule cannot be rescheduled without the agreement of the participants…they’re the facts.”

The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) wrote to the FIA and Ecclestone with their concerns that, aside from security questions, the teams are against extending the season into December due to logistical reasons.

An FOTA spokesperson to Reuters: “The teams have discussed the 2011 calendar within FOTA and have expressed their considered views privately in a letter to the FIA, FOM (Ecclestone) and BIC (Bahrain Circuit). It would be inappropriate therefore to comment further at this stage.”

The owners of cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL) Kochi franchise have initiated a new contest inviting fans to name the team.

The franchise has provided two options to choose the new name which must include Kerala or Kochi as the first name, and Titans, Commandos, Tigers, Tuskers, Heroes, or United as the last name.

KCPL Director Mukesh Patel said in a press release: “We would like to give an opportunity to all our fans to be a part of our team and select a name for their IPL team.”

Former Union minister of state for foreign affairs Shashi Tharoor had posted on his Twitter page: “As a Kerala MP & cricket well-wisher, had a frank talk with owners of IPL team. Convinced serious changes are coming, including of name.”

The Kochi franchise was initially named Indi Commandoes without having Kerala or Kochi attached to it, however within minutes the team was re-named as Indi Commandoes Kerala after facing flak from fans belonging mostly to Kerala.

This years Business India Forum was held on July 22, 2010 and the event once more organised by Celebrasian UK was held this year in London at Christie’s. A lovely small, niche auditorium amongst all those works of art from around the world.
The mix of topics this year was once more quite interesting with sports business meeting luxury and lifestyle in an Indian context, something with the exception of IPL isn’t really the case for India just yet. So something which is set to become more and more real for India in the coming years.

It was a half day forum with over 100 delegates attending. The opening session had the title “Overview of the Indian economy and three sectors”. Ridhika Batra, Director – Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, UK; was in the chair with Vijay Goel, Indo-EU Business Forum; Deepak Lalwani, Astaire Securities; and Farid Haque, Global Markets, Accenture as panellists and they all gave their views on how business could and should be done in India plus where the opportunities and possible problems lie. This set to tone for the rest of the afternoon.

The second session had the topic “The Business of Sports” with myself as the moderator with the focus mainly on cricket and football. My panel included Ishan Saksena, Chairman, Queen’s Park Rangers FC; Ashish Ray, Author and journalist; Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director, Sport Business Group; Anders Grundberg, Partner, McGuire Woods; and Clive W. Leach, Chairman, Durham County Cricket Club.

I started off giving a general overview on the Indian sporting field with the IPL the often mentioned example of commercialisation of sports in India, but I also gave the audience the information that football is a fast growing sport in India with the question to be asked on how and where can cricket grow further. My aim was to give an overview not only of cricket and football, which still where the main focus. My seasoned colleague Ashish took the discussions to another level as he is a cricket purist and was more interested in Test cricket, while most of the world was interested in 50 Overs and T20. An interesting discussion developed as India has clearly shown that Test cricket is of no real interest for the general public these days, while T20 is the new craze through the IPL; while in England Test cricket still has its place of its own. An interesting comparison was made as a strong league doesn’t automatically mean a strong national side. England and the EPL in football were compared to India and its IPL in cricket. And yes, it scarily sounded correct as both national sides have failed in recent major competition.

We also focused in the session on the main topic of business of sports in India. There are numerous opportunities not only in cricket and football with the example of the 30 year deal signed by IMG-Reliance with the Basketball Federation of India recently made, but there are also chances in Formula 1 and Golf.

After a tea break “Session Three – The Burgeoning Luxury and Lifestyle Markets” was held with Amin Jaffer, Director Indian Art, Christies; in the chair. The panel included Fiona Sanderson, Managing Director, The Luxury Channel; Onita Prasada Vashish, Owner, Onitaa Fashion; and Kevin Rego, International Head of Sales and Marketing, B4U TV.

The fourth and final session was on “Doing business in India”. It had Carl Nisser, Board member, Europe India Chamber of Commerce Counsel & McGuire Woods; as the moderator. The panel included Atul Gupta, Director, Euro Max Capital; and Parvinder Bhatia, Wasserman Media Group – India. They talked about the does and don’t in the Indian market. One thing that came out clear of this session was anyone interested to do business in India needs to know and then also understand how to do it in India. And that is the difficulty for international business across all fields as even multinationals have failed in India.

By Arunava Chaudhuri

http://arunfoot.blogspot.com/2010/07/business-india-forum-london-review.html

The English football Premier League has signed a deal with gaming giants EA Sports for it to become the League’s first sports technology partner.

As part of the deal EA’s on-screen branding will be shown during all live Premier League broadcasts, including coverage on Sky, ESPN and all overseas broadcasts.

EA will also sponsor the Premier League’s player performance index, replacing Actim as the league’s player rating system.

As well as this, the US gaming company will also publish a team of the week on the Premier League’s website.

Premier League director of sales and marketing, Richard Masters, said: “We are extremely pleased that EA Sports has had the foresight to enter into this exciting new partnership that will connect with Barclays Premier League fans in new and inventive ways.

“Fans have a thirst for statistics and and information and that is something that the Premier League, working with EA, will provide to a level not seen before in professional football.”

EA Sports said the deal would help it further establish itself as the leading football gaming experience.

The International Olympic Committee through its Executive Board have granted the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) provisional IOC recognition during their meeting in Lausanne, pharmacy Switzerland.

IFAF is American Football’s international governing body with 64 member nations spanning six continents.

“IFAF is proud to receive this recognition and join the Olympic family, purchase ” IFAF President Tommy Wiking said. “The enduring ideals of sport that comprise the Olympic Charter reside in our game’s timeless values and in the spirit of the millions who love to play it.

“We thank the IOC Executive Board and administration for its support throughout this process as well as our dedicated National and Continental committees, symptoms ” Wiking added. “It is especially gratifying to share this recognition with American Football athletes of all ages across the world, past and present. They have made and continue to make this an exceptional sport that captures our imaginations and unites us through competition in mind, body and heart.”

“On behalf of the IOC, we are delighted to welcome the IFAF into the Olympic Family. The federation has long demonstrated strong youth appeal and are making great progress in developing their sport around the world. We trust that this provisional recognition will generate momentum in the further universal development of their disciplines.” says Christophe Dubi, IOC Sports Director.

As American Football’s international governing body, IFAF looks after its three disciplines: tackle, flag and beach football.

Newly elcted IOC president Thomas Bach has welcomed the Italian government’s support for a 2024 Summer Olympics bid while also suggesting it’s “time for the United States to present a strong bid.”

Bach is in Rome for the European Olympic Committees general assembly and meetings with Pope Francis, and also visited with Italian Premier Enrico Letta.

“The prime minister appeared to be interested in a bid from Italy for 2024, because he has realised that the games can serve as a catalyst for development for a city and a country,” Bach told The Associated Press on Saturday.

While Rome has not yet been officially selected, the capital – which hosted the 1960 Games – would be Italy’s likely candidate.

Other potential 2024 bids could come from Paris; Doha, Qatar; and cities in Africa and the United States.

“I think it’s time for the United States to present a strong bid,” Bach said. “And I’m happy to hear that the USOC is undertaking everything to prepare such a bid.”

Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington are among the cities that could form a US bid.

The country’s last Summer Olympics were in Atlanta in 1996. Italy’s last Olympics were the 2006 Winter Games in Turin.