London Mayor Boris Johnson has lined up a very tempting deal for Tottenham Hotspur to give up their hold on the Olympic Stadium and instead accept a $26.6 million package to stay put in north London.

Johnson said in a statement: “Tottenham Hotspur has long been an integral part of the community and by staying true to its roots the club now has the power to revolutionize an area of the capital that has been neglected for far too long.

“Last month’s riots were a telling reminder of just how important it is for Spurs to press ahead with the development at Northumberland Park and to help kick-start a much wider regeneration project that would create jobs and give Tottenham the economic boost it deserves.”

The package provides for $7.8 million to go toward vital infrastructure and public works as well as an additional $5.5 million to improve transportation in the area around the historic White Hart Lane ground and the nearby Northumberland Park site that Spurs are proposing for their new stadium.

The local borough, meanwhile, is offering up another $13.3 million but insisted that’s the final offer.

Claire Kober, Haringey Council Leader, said: “The club knows there is no more money available from the public purse and I sincerely hope that they accept the offer we have made.”

“It is critically important that Spurs commit to Tottenham to help drive forward regeneration in this very deprived area.”

In a statement, Spurs revealed that the club had already invested $94m in land acquisition in order to facilitate the site assembly for the new stadium scheme and a further $39m on the planning process.

Club chairman Daniel Levy said the proposed stadium scheme and wider area development had the ability to provide the are with much needed cash and restoration. 

“But we cannot be expected to do this single-handedly. We have seen land values fall again post the recent riots and this is a further concern for the club as it considers the nature of the investment,” he said.

Levy added: “The overall scheme requires a complex package of financing of which the correct level and nature of public support is critical.

“We have held discussions with Haringey Council and the Mayor’s office regarding the funding of the public infrastructure works associated with the scheme.

“It would be wholly irresponsible of us to announce we were proceeding with the scheme without the appropriate agreements and support firmly in place. Discussions are continuing with all the relevant stakeholders and we shall, as always, keep our supporters updated.”

English Premier League rivals West Ham won the bid for Olympic Stadium back in February which Tottenham believed was unfair and have since appealed against.

A court hearing slated for Oct. 18 will decide whether to overturn the decision following the revelation that an Olympic Park Legacy Company director was on West Ham’s payroll.

The length of the stadium dispute has tainted London attempt to bid for the 2017 World Championships as if Tottenham overturn the decision their plan to not incorporate a running track will fold the deal while West Ham will keep the track.

Doha is also vying to stage the IAAF worlds in 2017. The final decision by the IAAF Council will be made in Monaco on Nov. 11.

Australia’s National Basketball League have announced a partnership with Perform Media Australia which will stream every game on the internet throughout the season.

The venture will produce five-camera live broadcasts for all matches outside the games shown by the league’s television partners, which will be simulcast online.

Boomers and Opals games will also be shown on NBL.TV, but those broadcasts will be subject to television deals and may not be live.

The Basketball Australia chief executive, Kristina Keneally, said: “This is a landmark deal in Australian sport – the very first of its kind in our country.” 

“New media and digital broadcasting are already having a huge impact on the media landscape, and basketball fans rightly expect broad access to high-quality live programming in this space.

“This deal truly puts us ahead of the pack: basketball is the first sport in Australia to give fans such comprehensive digital access to live sports content on-the-go.

“This is also the first time in NBL history that every game will be broadcast and available live.”

Ms Keneally said NBL.TV could become a major moneymaker for the league.

“On top of that, NBL.TV will be a league-owned platform rather than one owned by a rights-holder – so the NBL will retain control of its own broadcast product and benefit directly from the revenue generated by it,” she said.

“It gives us a major new revenue stream, as well as an attractive new proposition for sponsors.”

Basketball Australia has yet to announce the WNBL’s broadcast deal for this season.

Barcelona’s members have given full backing to the club’s controversial sponsorship deal with Qatar Sports Investment, the final hurdle to securing a cash injection of as much as 170 million euros ($230 million).

Members gathered at the Spanish and European champions’ general assembly voted 697 in favour of the record five-year deal, the biggest for any soccer club, with 76 against and 36 blank votes, the club said on their website.

Barca president Sandro Rosell and his board of directors had been lobbying members to vote in favour of the agreement amid criticism the club was compromising its ideals by taking money from an unsavoury regime.

Rosell, starting his second season in charge, has argued that the money is needed to help improve the club’s financial situation and help pay for the development of its sports teams.

“I would like things to be different and that the Barca shirt could be blank,” Rosell said. “But it can’t be because that way our opponents would overwhelm us.”

The Spanish and European champions were one of the few sides in world soccer not to have a corporate logo on their shirts, instead displaying the name of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), for which they paid the organisation 1.5 million euros ($2 million) a year.

Their shirts now carry the name “Qatar Foundation” on the front, with UNICEF relocated to the back below the player’s name.

Some members spoke out against the deal, pointing to what they said was Qatar’s poor human rights record.

“We want an explanation as to what this deal means,” member Marc Ferrer was quoted as saying in Sport newspaper. “I urge reflexion. Vote no so that a dictatorship does not become Barca’s sponsor.”

Vice president Javier Faus said the cash from Qatar was needed so Barca could live up to its motto of “More than a club”.

“It is true that Qatar does not treat its immigrants well. It’s not much different to what happens here. They (Qatar) are aware of it and are working on it.”

 

Time Warner Cable SportsNet announced today that it will air San Diego State, adiposity UNLV and Fresno State football and basketball games beginning with the 2012-13 season.

The network, ailment which launches October 1, will telecast 12 live Mountain West Conference football games and more than 24 Mountain West basketball games, making Time Warner Cable SportsNet the exclusive regional home for Aztecs, Rebels and Bulldogs fans starting this fall.

“The addition of San Diego State, UNLV and Fresno State football and basketball games to our telecast schedule makes Time Warner Cable SportsNet the media destination for sports fans in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Fresno,” said Mark Shuken, Senior Vice President and General Manager, TWC Sports Regional Networks. “Our network will give fans access to the teams they care about, from high school to college to the professional level.”

Time Warner Cable SportsNet’s college football schedule begins with Fresno State at Colorado State on Saturday, October 6.

Pay TV operator Starhub TV will be the home of Bundesliga football in Singapore for three more seasons after concluding a contract extension with broadcast rights-holder DFL Sports Enterprises for up to, viagra 40mg and including the 2014/2015 season.

The rights package includes ‘live’ coverage of up to 170 Bundesliga games, the Supercup, weekly match-week previews and an hour-long highlights show. The rights to content for online and mobile platforms are also included.

Starhub VP of home solutions, content Iris Wee said, “The Bundesliga is one of the top football leagues in the world and has a fast-growing global following. Singapore viewers enjoy the fast-paced, attractive football that the league offers and we are pleased that it will continue to excite our customers for three more seasons. It has been a joy working with DFL Sports Enterprises and we look forward to our continued partnership.”

Valencia have taken a bold move in absence of a shirt sponsor by putting their Twitter handle on the front of their shirts.

Valencia decided to take the opportunity for a little self promotion in their match against Barcelona on Wednesday. Valencia are one of the nine clubs in the Spanish Primera without a shirt sponsor this season. This is the first time a top flight club advertised a Twitter account on their kits and with just over 36,000 followers as of today, it seems like they needed to get the word out.

Now that the precedent has been set, it probably won’t be long until a company pays a club to put a Twitter handle on their shirts possibly Valencia itself.

RTV Slovenia have secured certain 2012–15 UEFA Europa League media rights in Slovenia.

Public broadcaster RTV Slovenia will show each matchweek the best live match and a highlights programme on SLO2. All rights have been granted on a platform-neutral basis, allergy | with the rights also being exploited on internet via rtvslo.si and on mobile.

 

Staff at Manchester United are expected to receive a record bonus payout. Manchester United will pay out a record £5million ($7.85mn) in bonuses to more than 500 Old Trafford staff.

According to the Daily Mail, symptoms the Glazer’s wrote to employees last Monday to tell them they are all in line for a 7.9 per cent bonus on their annual salary in recognition of the club’s success.

Some members of staff, such as £2million-a-year chief executive David Gill, will net just under £160,000 ($251,000) from the scheme.

The Glazers were determined to reward staff across the board after another hugely successful season at Old Trafford. United won a record 19th top-flight title and reached their third Champions League final in four years.

Performance off the field has also been reflected in the Glazers decision to give staff record bonuses.

They have been on performance-related pay since the Glazers took over in 2003, but the bonuses announced to staff are a record.

The club employ 620 people at Old Trafford, Carrington and at their commercial offices in London. Around 520 are non-playing staff and they have all been told the extra money will appear in next month’s salary.

United announced record revenue of $520.8m (up $70.7m over previous year) and record operating profit in excess of $172.8m for the twelve months ending June 30th 2011.

They are also making inroads into their substantial debt at Old Trafford, income is at record levels and they are planning a $1billion flotation on the Singapore stock market. United will publish the next set of accounts in October and they are expected to show massive increases in salary levels.

Real Madrid financial figures for the year ending June 30, capsule 2011 have seen an unprecedented record turnover.

The La Liga giant reported the revenue, capsule before the transfer of players, increasing from Eur442.3 million ($604.3mn) in 2009-10 to Eur480.2 million ($656.1mn) in 2010-11. A club statement read: “Real Madrid closes 2010-11 fiscal year with Eur480.2 ($656.1mn) million turnover, representing an 8.6% increase over last year. It is the largest revenue obtained by any sports institution in the world.”

Real’s net profit saw a significant 31.7% rise year-on-year to Eur31.6 million ($43.2mn). The club has also managed to take a substantial chunk out of its debt load as it fell from Eur244.6 million ($334.2mn) in 2009-10 to Eur169.7 million ($232mn).

Real added: “The club has managed to obtain a balanced structure of income sources, with a contribution that equals around a third of the total of each of the three great areas (stadium, television, marketing). This diversification of recurring income sources confers social stability to the club, cushioning the impact of possible income oscillations motivated by differences in performance in sports and the evolution of financial activity.”

Real’s biggest Spanish rival FC Barcelona revealed a pre-tax loss of Eur9.3 million ($12.7mn) for the year ending June 2011. Operating income rose by 14% year-on-year to Eur473.4 million ($647.1mn), while the club was also able to report that its net debt fell from Eur430.6 million ($588.5mn) to Eur363.7 million ($497mn).

The German Volleyball League (DVL) and online broadcaster, prostate GIP, order have agreed a three-year partnership agreement.

Through Spobox.tv, buy GIP will broadcast 34 games per season from the German league, with 40 games planned for the first year of the contract.

The deal will allow for one game a week during the season and at least one game during the men’s and women’s play-offs.

Bjorn Beinhauer, Managing Director of GIP said that clubs in the league will be able to use the videos on their own websites and a mobile app was in production.