Coca-Cola Beatbox Unveiled at London 2012 Olympic Park

The Coca-Cola Beatbox was unveiled at the Olympic Park with a small crowd exploring the uniquely looking venue.

An experimental fusion of architecture, medicine sport, impotent music and technology, the venue will be available to fans who have tickets to the 2012 Olympics.

The building will be making music when the guests arrive. With 230 five-meter-long panels made of EFTE, a plastic polymer, individually the panels sound like an enormous drum skin giving a very distinctive sound.

Eurosport Launches iPhone Score App

Eurosport has launched a new score app for the iPhone. Livescore is a free application that provides a variety of information including lives scores, cialis results, rankings and incidents from live sporting events and fixtures in a range of team and individual sports.

Users can follow worldwide events including football, tennis rugby, basketball, and ice hockey and the app’s launch will coincide with tonight’s important international football fixtures.

Livescore allows users to follow a particular team or tennis player throughout the season. The application could be a valuable resource for journalists and media personnel as well as sports fans. The service is available in English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, French, German, Polish, Italian, and Swedish.

Eurosport said it was encouraged to create of the app following a recent survey that revealed live score updates were the preferred use of 89% of Eurosport’s news app users.

Eurosport chairman and CEO Laurent-Eric Le Lay said: “Livescore enriches and gives a new dimension to our mobile offering as well as taking the Eurosport brand into new and exciting areas. Fans, journalists and sports fanatics across Europe will love the app which is fully customisable and will cater to their every need.”

 

FEI Holds Inauguration of New Lausanne Headquarters

The inauguration of the HM King Hussein I Building, the new headquarters of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) in Lausanne, is taking place today, May 6, as equestrian sport expands rapidly throughout the world.

The headquarters have been named in tribute to the FEI President, HRH Princess Haya’s late father.

Khuan Chew, founder and design principal of London-based architectural firm KCA International Ltd, worked in close collaboration with Swiss-based architect Hervé de Rham and interior designer Siavosh Adeli to transform a building dating from the late 1960s by redesigning the façade and totally reconstructing the interior.

Speaking of the project, Chew explained that the FEI “was very receptive to my creativity in introducing ideas and features not normally entertained in a corporate environment.”


the HM King Hussein I Building, the new Headquarters

of the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) in Lausanne,

 

Aberdeen Given Council Approval for New Stadium

Scottish Premier League (SPL) soccer club Aberdeen are moving closer to being given the go-ahead for a new home stadium after their plans were approved by councillors, subject to approval by Scottish ministers.

Permission has been awarded to Aberdeen to build the £40m stadium, capable of holding about 21,000 fans, at Loirston Loch in the south of the City.

The stadium plans include a gym, a club shop, museum and cafe, and the whole facility would be lit at night by a red glow.

Local communities and groups concerned about the environmental impact of the stadium added up to 140 objections but councillors rejected them all.

The club’s current home, Pittodrie, is subject to plans from Aberdeen FC to be sold near the beach for housing.

UEFA Investigate 76 Clubs for Breach of FFP

European soccer’s governing body UEFA has revealed that it is investigating 76 clubs in European competition this season for possible breaches of its Financial Fair Play rules.

The 76 clubs – which represents about one-third of the total number playing in Europe – all failed UEFA’s rules for 2012 and have been asked to provide financial information for 2013.

They have been asked to give updated financial statements to an independent UEFA-appointed panel monitoring their finances.

UEFA says it will announce the first sanctions against clubs in April and more serious cases will be judged by June.

The European body’s general secretary Gianni Infantino said: “This figure of 76 clubs is a high figure but it has to be looked at in the perspective of what the end figure will be.”

UEFA’s rules for FFP state that clubs will be punished by potential bans from European competition if they do not balance their books, allowing them to lose only €45m (£38m) over a three-year period – provided these losses are covered by a benefactor.

45 Sports Business Arrivals/Departures of the Month: January 2014

Our Top Mover this month was Sandro Rosell who resigned as FC Barcelona President.

A number of other notable executives who left their jobs include Patrick Louis who left Lotus F1 as CEO and Nicola Cortese who stepped down as Southampton FC Chairman.

January 2014 was also the last month NBA Commissioner David Stern was in charge and handed over the reigns to Adam Silver on February 1.

Our Full List Here (in date order):

1

Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan Am Games Agree Severance Package for Former CEO

Friday, 31 January 2014

2

Mark Tatum Becomes NBA’s Deputy Commissioner as Silver Set to Take Top Job

Friday, 31 January 2014

3

Hooper to Step Down as Commonwealth Games CEO after Glasgow 2014

Thursday, 30 January 2014

4

McLaren Mercedes to Appoint New CEO in Organisational Structure Changes

Wednesday, 29 January 2014

5

Atlanta Falcons Extends Rich McKay’s Contract as President & CEO

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

6

Kent Cricket Name Graham Johnson as Club President

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

7

ITF Appoints Former Tennis Australia Director to Consult on Asia-Pacific Commercial Matters

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

8

Tennis Canada Names New President & CEO

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

9

Williams Advanced Engineering Appoints New Managing Director

Tuesday, 28 January 2014

10 

World Squash Chief Ramachandran Set to be IOA President

Sunday, 26 January 2014

11

Lotus F1 Chairman Lopez to Assume Team Principal Role after Boullier Departure

Friday, 24 January 2014

12

Sandro Rosell Quits as FC Barcelona President, Successor Named

Friday, 24 January 2014

13

Former Jaguar Global Sponsorship Director Joins Performance Communications

Thursday, 23 January 2014

14

Southampton FC Appoints New Interim CEO after Cortese Departure

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

15

Paraag Marathe Promoted to San Francisco 49ers President

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

16

Dominic Anghileri Joins ITF as Executive Director of Finance

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

17

FOX Sports Appoints Sam Leadsom to VP Role in Singapore

Wednesday, 22 January 2014

18

FC Dallas Appoints Dan Hunt as President

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

19

Women’s Squash Association Reveal New President & Board Members

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

20

1860 Munich Appoints Markus Rejek as Managing Director

Monday, 20 January 2014

21

Jerome Champagne Confirms FIFA Presidency Bid

Monday, 20 January 2014

22

FAI Appoints Susanne Schödel as New Secretary General

Sunday, 19 January 2014

23

English Table Tennis Association Chairman Andy Seward Passes Away

Friday, 17 January 2014

24

Ron Dennis Appointed CEO of McLaren Group

Thursday, 16 January 2014

25

Nicola Cortese Quits as Southampton Chairman

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

26

Zaka Ashraf Reinstated as Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

27

Jörg Degenhart Elected to Bundesliga Foundation Board

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

28

Huddersfield Town Appoints Ross Wilson to Board of Directors

Wednesday, 15 January 2014

29

Learfield Sports Appoints Former NASCAR VP Marc Jenkins as COO

Tuesday, 14 January 2014

30

brandRapport Appoints Two New Directors to Lead Samsung/Chelsea & LV= Accounts

Monday, 13 January 2014

31

Former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to Head Tokyo 2020 Olympic Committee

Sunday, 12 January 2014

32

Former Scottish Rugby Union Chief Becomes Sales Sharks New Chairman

Sunday, 12 January 2014

33

David Wilson Promoted to President of Toyota Racing Development

Friday, 10 January 2014

34

Richard Buck Named NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Managing Director

Friday, 10 January 2014

35

Wayne Taylor Racing Announce New President & COO

Friday, 10 January 2014

36

Havas Reveals Leadership Changes with New CEO

Thursday, 09 January 2014

37

Adidas Appoint Eric Liedtke to Executive Board for Global Brands

Thursday, 09 January 2014

38

Jan Menneken Set to Step Down as Executive Director of Commercial at ITF

Wednesday, 08 January 2014

39

Richard Heaselgrave Leaves Chief Commercial Officer Post at Football League

Tuesday, 07 January 2014

40

Patrick Louis Steps Down as Lotus F1 CEO

Tuesday, 07 January 2014

41

Former Lloyds Olympic Director Sally Hancock Named Chair of Women’s Sport & Fitness Foundation

Monday, 06 January 2014

42

brandRapport Hire New Head of Digital

Monday, 06 January 2014

43

Lord Howard Quits as Arena Racing Company Chairman

Thursday, 02 January 2014

44

Simon Ellen Secures New Term as Racecourse Media Group Chairman

Thursday, 02 January 2014

45

Dr. Harvey W. Schiller Named USA Handball President & Chairman

Thursday, 02 January 2014

Nottingham Rugby Announces Commercial Personnel Shakeup

Nottingham Rugby, who play in the second tier in English Rugby, has announced a number of personnel changes to the commercial team. 

Chris Simon has been appointed as Operations Director and will be responsible for managing the day to day off field operations and continuing with the great work he started last season enhancing the match day experience and driving commercial sales. Chris will assume the role whilst retaining his business interests running his own agency Perfect Motion who deliver the clubs marketing, media and match-day activities already.

As Chris takes on more operational duties for Nottingham Rugby, he will be assisted with marketing activity by Nik Emmonds, Marketing Account Manager at Perfect Motion. Since the departure of the in-house media officer last season, Nik has taken on the role and will continue to be the main interface between the club and the local and national media.

Commenting on the change, Chairman Alsitair Bow said: “We recognised that we needed to make some changes, but without incurring any additional cost. The club is still in need of significant investment and we wanted to free up some of Chief Executive Simon Beatham’s time to help us do this, but without introducing any disruption on the operational side.

“Chris has been involved with Nottingham Rugby for the last three years and has a sound understanding of how the business side is run. He knows our sponsors, has been instrumental in our growth off the field and I have every confidence that he’ll be able to combine his existing marketing duties with a more operational role.”

Nottingham Rugby also revealed two further changes – the promotion of Mel Lawson to Commercial Executive and the appointment of Rob Pearce as Community Manager.

Mel Lawson, 22 has been with the club for four years and already has a wealth of experience. With Laura Egglestone being on maternity leave for the rest of this season, Mel was the ideal candidate to step up to the role.

Rob Pearce, 22, started volunteering for the club last season, taking on pitch-side activities on match-day. He is seen as a natural replacement for Steve Smith and will oversee all community matters with the delivery coaches – Josh Salathiel and Sam Bignall reporting into him.

Both Mel and Rob will report to Chris Simon.

Glasgow Reveals Bid Plans for 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Glasgow revealed plans for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games at the Tollcross venue, attended by Sport Minister Shona Robison and young athletes from the City of Glasgow Swim Team.

According to the bid document, which has been submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), athletic events would be held at Scotstoun Stadium while diving and swimming would be staged at Tollcross International Aquatics Centre, with a purpose-built Athletes’ Village at Sighthill, north of the City.

It’s been revealed that 15 of the 17 sites proposed for the 2018 Youth Games would be completed before the end of 2013, and the majority of these venues would be no more than 20 minutes travel time from the Youth Olympic Village in Sighthill.

Robison said at the event: “Warmth and hospitality alongside an excellent reputation for hosting world-glass sport events makes Glasgow, and Scotland, the perfect stage for the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

“Young athletes competing at the top of their field rightly expect the very best facilities and support services.

“Building on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics and the forthcoming 2014 Commonwealth Games, Scotland stands ready to be an exciting, dynamic host of the Youth Olympic Games.”

Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the British Olympic Association and the London 2012 Organising Committee is supporting Glasgow’s bid. He said: “The Youth Olympic Games is a fresh, exciting young product. By entrusting it to Glasgow 2018, the Olympic family will have a historic opportunity to draw on the unprecedented pool of sophisticated event-hosting expertise and global youth engagement programs in the UK right now.

“We delivered our promises and we achieved our goals at London 2012, and we’re ready to continue that partnership with the Olympic family in Glasgow in 2018, another sports city in our sporting nation.”

The IOC is to announce the host city for the 2018 Youth Games in July 2013, following a short-listing process in February.

Lord Coe Sparks London 2012 Sponsorship Row

Lord Sebastian Coe has fueled a sponsorship row by suggesting sports fans may be turned away at venues if they wear non-olympic sponsor brands.

The former Olympic champion said people would not be allowed in the park wearing a Pepsi T-shirt “because Coca Cola are our sponsors”.

But Lord Coe, chairman of organising committee Locog, contradicted himself by saying spectators wearing Nike trainers will “probably” be allowed into venues. Rival sportswear maker adidas is an Olympic “partner”.

However, Locog moved to clarify Lord Coe’s comments and said that “individuals wearing brands is fine”. They have faced criticism for their hardline stance on “brand security”, introduced to safeguard the Olympiad’s corporate deals.

Hundreds of trading standards officers will trawl venues to ensure that only Games’ sponsors and approved businesses are associating themselves with the Olympics.

In an interview with BBC radio Lord Coe was asked if people would be able to go to an Games event in a Pepsi T-shirt.

He said: “No, you probably wouldn’t be walking in with a Pepsi T-shirt because Coca Cola are our sponsors and they put millions of pounds into this project but also millions of pounds into grassroots sport and it is important to protect those sponsors.”

Asked if spectators could get in wearing Nike trainers, he said: “I think you probably could … you probably would be able to walk through with Nike trainers.”

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Oakeshott said: “Most people would think it is ridiculous for a child who may only have one pair of trainers to be turned away for wearing the wrong brand. But most importantly Lord Coe needs to know exactly what the situation is.”

Lord Coe said: “We have to protect the sponsor, they in large part pay for the Games. They help us meet legacy targets. When you have big British businesses prepared to invest you have the responsibility to protect them.”

A Locog spokesman said: “Spectators can wear any brand of trainers they want. Individuals wearing brands is fine. If people were to come in a large group with visible branding that is when there could be an issue.”

Sports Illustrated Design New App Presented by Coke Zero

Sports Illustrated has unveiled Sports Illustrated Football Rivals, unhealthy one of SI’s most ambitious app presented by Coke Zero.

The app explores 10 great football rivalries through SI’s unmatched editorial coverage — complete with video and audio enhancements — and delivers the seminal games, capsule deciding plays and dominant performances within a dynamic, easy-to-use interface featuring 3D interactivity.  The free app, is available for the iPad, iPhone and Android Smartphones and can be downloaded on the website

In all, there is more than 300 pages of content and interactive components such as video from Ohio State freshman Archie Griffin’s breakout game against North Carolina (his first big step in a two-time Heisman-winning career), rare photos from the start of the Auburn-Alabama rivalry, a deep look inside the Bears-Packers frigid relationship (with telling quotes) and a recreation of the Army-Navy game played in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s death. The 10 rivalries as chosen by Sports Illustrated editors are presented in interactive timelines where fans can pick points within the histories of each rivalry to access highlights, get inside stories from Sports Illustrated reporters, review key statistics and preview this year’s upcoming showdowns.

Terry McDonell, Sports Illustrated Group Editor, said: “The Sports Illustrated Football Rivals app explores the game’s classic rivalries in a groundbreaking way. The range of the experience is rich and extraordinary.”

Three-time Emmy Award nominated actor Kyle Chandler, known for his role as Coach Eric Taylor in the acclaimed TV series Friday Night Lights, provides voice-over narration for short original films created by Sports Illustrated using archival photos.

The new app is also part of Coke Zero’s Black Edition program, which is designed to help fans enjoy everything about football.  Coke Zero also will serve as the exclusive advertiser of four Sports Illustrated Presents college football conference previews (Pac 12, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) distributed exclusively at Sam’s Club’s 600 locations nationwide. Coke Zero is supporting the app with radio promotions and messaging on more than 30 million Coke Zero cans.  In addition, the brand is giving away thousands of prizes through MyCokeRewards.com, including VIP game access, once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences, and a VIP football experience with tickets to a key season-ending rivalry game and a pre-game dinner with a SI staffer.  Every hour, the Coke Zero Black Edition program will give away prizes from EA Sports and Sports Illustrated on MyCokeRewards.com, and each week, one person will win a gaming console, the EA Sports video game library and a one-year subscription to Sports Illustrated.

The Coke Zero Black Edition program is showing up at college football’s most intense matchups of the season and giving fans even more ways to win. By visiting the Coke Zero Black Edition Fan Combine, fans can enter to win tickets and upgraded access to future games, and other exciting prizes like tickets to the Chick-fil-A Bowl in January.