English League Two team Rotherham United FC have named its new £20 million ($31 million) venue the New York Stadium in homage to the history of the part of the northern England town where it is based.

The stadium is built on the site of a foundry that made New York’s distinctive fire hydrants and New York is the historic name for the area.

Club chairman Tony Stewart said: ”The new stadium name is strongly rooted in more than 150 years of Rotherham’s proud history of industry and enterprise. I have had many letters, e-mails and calls from fans with their suggestions. But, over the past few weeks, the support for New York really started to gather momentum.

”After careful consultation and detailed research into the local history of the site, we felt that New York was the perfect name for our new stadium.”

Rotherham left Millmoor in 2008 after 101 years following a dispute with the stadium owner. It is playing in nearby Sheffield until New York Stadium is ready.

The steel framework on three sides of the new stadium is in place and the ground should be ready for its new tenant by the time the 2012-13 season kicks off in August.

The site previously was home to the Guest and Chrimes Foundry, which was in business from 1857 until 1999 and was one of many local works to export iron and steel infrastructure to North American cities.

But the choice isn’t just about nostalgia and local history.

”We also feel that the name can open doors for the commercial team at Rotherham United,” Stewart said. ”We looking into the possibility of setting up links between Rotherham and New York, USA.”

The Rugby Football Union’s (RFU) management board are set to meet today to discuss what changes need to be made after the critical reviews into England’s World Cup.

The reports, obtained by The Times last week, were compiled by the RFU, the Rugby Players’ Association and the Aviva Premiership clubs and presented to the Professional Game Board.

Stuart Lancaster, who currently oversees England Saxons, looks set to be appointed interim head coach – with assistance from Graham Rowntree – for the duration of the RBS 6 Nations.

With Lancaster filling the role of caretaker, the RFU will have the breathing space needed to assemble a permanent coaching team to take England to the 2015 World Cup.

It is potentially an exciting period for English rugby with high-calibre coach candidates Nick Mallett and Wayne Smith among those stating they would be open to an approach from Twickenham next year.

Today’s meetings will be important for director of elite rugby Rob Andrew, who has been the target of intense criticism since Martin Johnson’s resignation as manager.

The RFU board meeting should prove pivotal to the future direction of Twickenham and England.

The recommendations could include changes to the structure of the elite department and the national team management.

Andrew compiled the RFU report and sits on the management board, but his own role is set to come under close scrutiny.

Sports minister Hugh Robertson told Press Association Sport urgent reform of Andrew’s elite department was needed after it let England down at the World Cup.

Mallett, the former South Africa, Italy and Stade Francais coach, believes there is no need for an elite rugby director to oversee the national team.

Indeed, Mallett’s interest in the head coach’s position hinges on his demand that he report only to the board and chief executive, and not to a director of elite rugby.

The RFU expect to announce their new chief executive on December 14.

Discuss what’s next for the RFU with Michael Cunnah

 

MP & Silva have announced the launch of its office in Budapest today, May 3, to advance its growth and support for clients and partners in Eastern Europe.   

The Budapest office marks the company’s latest move to expand and reinforce its operations worldwide following the establishment of offices in Hanoi, Beijing, London and Munich in 2010.. 

A statement on the company’s website claimed: “The Budapest office will not only be pivotal in furthering the distribution and commercialisation of the company’s portfolio, but will add value in servicing Eastern European clients and reaching out to key partners, with MP & Silva already involved with events such as Serbia Open, Croatia Open, Zagreb Indoors and FIGHT CODE.”

Nadia Strakova will lead the Budapest office as East European Sales Director, supporting MP & Silva’s operations with her vast experience in regional programme and channel distribution. She will work closely with Roberto Dalmiglio, Managing Director Europe, MP & Silva, to drive sales development in the region.

Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva, said: “Opening the Budapest office is an important milestone for MP & Silva, for the overall expansion of the group worldwide and tapping into the East European market. We are confident about the potential for sports in the region, which has been spurred by increasing numbers of East European sporting stars and the region’s increasing dominance of key sporting events such as UEFA Euro 2012, UEFA Europa League and the FIFA World Cup – which will be in East Europe for the first time in 2018.”

Ticket sales for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand are booming according to Martin Snedden, the man responsible for the events successful delivery with almost two-thirds of the target being reached at this early stage.

In total, 864,000 tickets have been sold since the programme was released earlier in the year which has brought in revenues of NZ$166m (US$122.7m). A target of 1.45 million sales had been set across the 48 matches played in the tournament with around 662,000 having been snapped up already.

RNZ 2011 Ltd chief executive Martin Snedden claimed that key match ticket sales and revenue targets had been met this year with organisers preparing for the arrival of 85,000 international visitors next year.

Snedden stated: “This is a very good position to be in with 267 days to go until kick-off. We still have a lot left to do, but event preparations, coupled with ticket sales to date and strong international visitor projections mean we are getting ourselves in good shape to host the tournament.”

Snedden added: “We are on track to achieve the forecast total ticket sales revenue of $NZ268 million. (That target) was always going to be a big leap into the unknown given that the biggest grossing event previously in New Zealand’s history was the 2005 Lions tour during which the New Zealand Rugby Union grossed NZ$24 million from ticket sales. We’ve now achieved seven times that figure. In the end, we’ll need to do 11 times that amount to hit budget.”

Paciolan, an industry-leading provider of ticketing, marketing, fundraising and sales automation solutions in college athletics, announced today that Michigan State University (Michigan State), University of Michigan (Michigan) and University of Texas-Austin (Texas) will begin implementing the company’s Ticketing Intelligence data warehouse solution.

Ticketing Intelligence integrates multiple databases including ticketing, marketing, University and Athletics fundraising, merchandise and concessions systems into a single database to provide a comprehensive view of all revenue streams. Paciolan has partnered with SSB Consulting Group and Kore Technologies to deliver the industry-leading data warehouse solution.

“We are proud to expand our partnership with all three of these thought-leading universities and provide them with a rich reporting solution to help each institution make critical, data-driven business decisions,” said Dave Butler, chief executive officer of Paciolan. “Using this system, each university will be enabled to more easily assess their business, improve operational efficiencies and use real-time data to enhance the experience of each fan and donor.”

Paciolan Ticketing Intelligence will allow each university to efficiently integrate data from third-party systems, such as data-append and lead-scoring services, as well as university fundraising systems to provide sophisticated data analysis across a complex organization to aid revenue growth.

“We’re ecstatic to be afforded with a smart analytics solution that offers intelligent reporting and data analysis to help monitor and tailor innovative programs for Spartan fans,” said Mark Hollis, director of athletics for Michigan State University. “With Paciolan Ticketing Intelligence, we now gain full visibility of every fan interaction, including engagement from both athletics and the university, to help elevate customer service initiatives.”

With the implementation of the intelligent reporting system, each university will be able to view live reports using mobile devices, including iPads and smart phones for instant access to sophisticated data. The smart analytics solution will allow the institutions to better analyze sales, customer data, compare ticket sales and fund development across seasons, and adapt programs to maximize revenues.

“Paciolan’s Ticketing Intelligence system provides our staff with a time-saving reporting tool that assists us in better understanding customer trends and helps inform marketing decisions,” said Hunter Lochmann, chief marketing officer for the University of Michigan. “Additionally, we plan to use this tool to bring together data from multiple disparate databases to have a holistic view of every interaction we’ve had with Wolverine fans and customers.”

Leveraging Paciolan’s Ticketing Intelligence solution, each university will be provided with live reporting and direct data warehouse access that can enable athletics programs to create unique reports, specific to their business objectives. The intelligent reporting system provides universities with the ability to better analyze sales data by price type and price level, including season tickets, mini plans, and single or group tickets.

“Unit managers whose duties involve customer service are now proactively managing and monitoring customer needs using Paciolan’s system,” said DeLoss Dodds, men’s athletics director for the University of Texas. “By analyzing data, we are making decisions to improve venue and communication experiences for our loyal fans and alumni.”

Limelight Sports and the Royal Parks Foundation, sale the team behind the award-winning Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon, have renewed their partnership agreement to deliver the iconic race for a further 5 years.

The partners will also work closely to secure sponsor rights for the race.

This unique half-marathon is a major annual charity fundraising event, which since its creation in 2008 has helped to raise an estimated £11million for 365 UK based charities, large and small. The race runs through 4 Royal Parks and past many other iconic London landmarks including Big Ben, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye.

This year’s event in October will once again attract more than 12,500 runners with its picturesque setting and impressive sustainability credentials, including recycling around 150,000 plastic water bottles, redistributing unused food, recycling unclaimed clothing, and providing fairtrade bananas, high performance bamboo and recycled polyester race shirts, and FSC-certified wooden medals.

The event has won many awards including best Outdoor Event at the 2011 Event Awards and won the ‘Best Sponsorship of an Event’ category at the 2009 Hollis Sponsorship Awards.  It has also been shortlisted for the last two years at the prestigious Sport Industry Awards for ‘Best Participation Event’.

Commenting on the new agreement, Sara Lom, Chief Executive of The Royal Parks Foundation said, “We are delighted to be extending our agreement with Limelight Sports. They have been crucial to the success of the event and their enthusiasm and dedication has been a big factor in enabling the event to grow and develop into one of the most popular races in the running calendar”.

Craig Dews, CEO of Limelight Sports said, “The Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon has been a flagship event for us. The Royal Parks Foundation’s progressive approach and aspirational targets have challenged us to create an event that delivers a very high quality, premium experience for the runners and our partners. Over the next five years we will be looking at even more innovative ways of building the reputation and status of the event’”

This announcement comes at a time when Limelight is enjoying unprecedented levels of success. Last year the agency won the award for Sport Agency of the Year at the Sport Industry Awards.  In March the agency picked up three more awards at the Hollis Sponsorship Awards including Sponsorship Agency of the Year.