San Diego’s World Beach Games Dry Up

A lack of funding and sponsorship has forced San Diego to give up the first World Beach Games set for later this year, leaving the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) scrambling to find a new host.

With no government contributions or guarantees and not enough sponsorship, San Diego organizers were left with no choice but to surrender the inaugural Games set to run from October 10-15.

Reuters reports:

ANOC indicated in a statement on Thursday that funding issues were a priority, saying the new host would have the necessary financial guarantees.

“The Games will take place in 2019 and ANOC is currently in discussion with a number of cities that have the financial guarantees necessary and a proven track record to host a world-class event,” said the ANOC in a statement.

ANOC did not say when a new host city would be announced.

This is the latest setback for the troubled World Beach Games, a project conceived by Kuwaiti ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah (photo below).

In a unanimous vote, San Diego was awarded the Games in 2015 and they were originally due to be staged in 2017.

They were later moved to 2019 in order to give National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and international federations time to prepare athletes for the event.

The World Beach Games were to be held on a single consolidated site at Mission Beach.

The event was expected to attract close to 1,300 athletes from 70 countries for a six-day competition in 16 different disciplines from surfing to waterskiing and skateboarding.

Malta Withdraws America’s Cup Challenge

The next America’s Cup regatta in New Zealand in 2021 will be setting sail without a challenging competitor from Malta.

The withdrawal of the Malta Altus challenge leaves just syndicates from Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and two from the United States competing to race holders Team New Zealand (TNZ) for sport’s oldest trophy.

“This is a disappointing outcome,” TNZ Chief Executive Grant Dalton (at left in photo above with Mario Prada) said in a statement today.

“The Malta Altus Challenge had a strong foundation with some highly experienced and reputable America’s Cup personnel linked to the team.”

“So, for them to pull out is not just a shame for the event but also for those people that have worked so hard trying to get this challenge to the start line.

“We hope they will continue to build on their foundation over the next 18 months with a view to the future and challenging for the 37th America’s Cup.”

TNZ won the America’s Cup from Larry Ellison’s Oracle team USA in Bermuda in 2017 in foiling catamarans, although the next regatta will be raced in AC75 class foiling monohull yachts.

Malta was one of the three late challenges accepted by TNZ and the Challengers of Record Italy’s Luna Rossa in March, which required an amendment to the Cup protocol.

All three teams were required to pay a $1 million late entry fee, with $250,000 paid on April 1 and the remaining $750,000 due by October 1.

The America’s Cup, considered the pinnacle of yacht matchracing, has struggled to attract challenges in recent years with budgets blowing out in excess of $100 million.

TNZ said last November they had been vetting eight entrants for the next regatta, to be held in Auckland in early 2021.

The withdrawal of the Malta challenge was a disappointment according to Challenger of Record Chief Executive Laurent Esquier.

“We are wanting the (challenger series) Prada Cup to include as many teams as possible,” Esquier said.

“While we have done all we can to support the Malta Altus Challenge, they haven’t been able to bring together all the layers of complexity that are needed to continue with an Americas Cup challenge.

“We are still guaranteed to have an exciting and highly competitive Prada Cup to select the final challenger to race against Team New Zealand.”

 

LaLiga Welcomes iSportconnect Summit To Madrid

iSportconnect held its 2019 Madrid Summit in partnership with LaLiga today at the Callao City Lights cinema in the centre of the city near the festival celebrating tomorrow’s Champions League final.

Delegates heard insightful comments on Broadcasting, Digital Content, Sponsorship and Major Events from speakers including:

  • Javier Alonso, Director, Kosmos
  • Rory Anderson, CEO Europe, 12Bet
  • Antonio Arimany, Secretary General, International Triathlon Union
  • David Arroyo, Digital Director, Dorna
  • Jordi Bertomeu, President, Euroleague
  • Benjamin Blanco, Global Sponsorship Lead, Heineken
  • William Hailiang Chen, Principal Architect, Wanda Cultural Tourism Planning & Design Institute
  • David Hopkinson,Global Head of Partnerships, Real Madrid
  • Scott Kegley, Executive Director, Digital Media & Innovation, Minnesota Vikings
  • David Lampitt, Managing Director, Group Operations, Sportradar.
  • Kike Levy, Sports Strategic Manager, Facebook
  • Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing & Communications, Formula 1
  • Mark Parkman, General Manager, Olympic Channel
  • John Rhodes, Director of Sports + Entertainment, HOK

Expert moderators were Ben Barker from Monterosa, Kevin Cancilla from Vindicia, Ryan Gallace from Hookit, and Richard Knight from HOK.

Just One Day To Go For iSportconnect’s 2019 Madrid Summit

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that its just One Day To Go for our 2019 Madrid Summit. To be Held on Friday 31st May at Callao City Lights, the day before the highly anticipated UEFA Champions League Final hosted at Atlético Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano, this event will kick off iSportconnect’s Global Event Series.

In partnership with LaLiga, iSportconnect has assembled a content programme that will bring together thought leaders from premier rights owners and brands to discuss and debate strategic issues impacting the future of the global sports business, including digital content strategies, sponsorship and partnership issues, hosting major events and the future of sporting facilities.

The speaker lineup includes the following:

  • Benjamin Blanco, Global Sponsorship Lead, Heineken
  • Jordi Bertomeu, President & CEO, Euroleague Basketball
  • Antonio Arimany, Secretary General, International Triathlon Union
  • William Hailiang Chen, Principal Architect, Wanda Cultural Tourism Planning & Design Institute
  • John Rhodes, Director of Sports + Entertainment, HOK
  • Javier Alonso, Executive Director at Kosmos & CEO of Kosmos Tennis
  • Kike Levy, Sports Strategic Partnership Manager, Facebook
  • Rory Anderson, CEO Europe, 12Bet
  • David Arroyo, Digital Director, Dorna Sports
  • Mark Parkman, General Manager, Olympic Channel
  • Scott Kegley, Executive Director of Digital Media & Innovation, Minnesota Vikings
  • Ellie Norman, Director of Marketing and Communications, Formula 1
  • David Hopkinson, Global Head of Partnerships, Real Madrid CF

 

To register your interest in attending the 2019 Madrid Summit, please contact Chloe McCombie at info@isportconnect.com

Invitation Policy: The Madrid Summit is a complimentary event for iSportconnect members who are from governing bodies, sports teams, brands and broadcasters. There is no fee to become an iSportconnect member. No sports agencies, professional service providers & suppliers are allowed.

For limited partnership opportunities, please contact Hugo Millns at info@isportconnect.com

Start-Up Winner Crowned As THE SPOT Concludes

Virtual commentary company Spalk was declared the winner of THE SPOT’s Start-up Battle operated by Venturelab as the two-day event at the SwissTech Convention Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, ended yesterday.

The second edition of THE SPOT attracted 850 delegates from 35 countries representing 450 organisations and companies were present.

Participants included over 150 employees from Sport Federations and the International Olympic Committee, 80 start-ups and over 55 international speakers. The Market Place and Demo Zone featured over 50 start-ups changing booths each day, 12 corporate stands as well as Houses for Belgium, Italy and Switzerland.

Spalk provides a cost-saving virtual commentary solution, allowing leagues and broadcasters to add multilingual and alternate commentaries to their existing live broadcasts from commentators behind their laptops, anywhere in the world and targeting fans demographically.

Despite strong competition from over 40 competitors, the company won a total cash prize of CHF5,000 (CHF1,000 in the preliminary round topped up with CHF4,000 as the ultimate title of Start-up Battle 2019 winner).

(In the photo above, Spalk founder Ben Reynolds receives the grand prize from Anna Hellman, Managing Director of THE SPOT.)

Start-ups specialising in blockchain, virtual reality, data analytics, connected venue, performance & health, fan engagement and other fields went head-to-head in front of an enthusiastic crowd and an impressive jury made up of investors, experts from the Olympic Movement, and business leaders.

Advanced Sport Instruments (A.S.I.) won the Swiss Coup de Cœur, a CHF 2,000 prize offered by the extended organising committee to the most promising Swiss start-up of the competition. In addition, a Discovery start-up battle provided an opportunity for 16 early-stage start-ups to present their innovative ideas to an audience of industry professionals.

“We are really pleased with this second edition of THE SPOT and have received very positive feedback,” said Hellman, who also heads ThinkSport. “It’s still a young event, but we have the feeling that we are helping to form a really dynamic sports and innovation community in the region and beyond, which is keen to share fresh ideas and team up with other creative partners.”

She added: “THE SPOT serves as an annual meeting point for this smart crowd, however with our new Sports Innovation Hub, we will now have a solid and permanent platform for sport and innovation in the region.”

At the opening of THE SPOT, it was announced that Eurovision Sport, Nagra Kudelski, SwissTiming and UEFA will officially support the new Sport Innovation Hub.

THE SPOT will be back for a third edition on 12 and 13 May 12-13, 2020.

 

NBA Has Big Lead As World’s Most Followed League On Social

The NBA leads other sports leagues and governing bodies in social media interaction by a wide margin, according to the latest rankings by sports sponsorship analytics and evaluation platform Hookit.

In April the NBA racked up more than twice as many interactions as the organisation in second place, Spain’s LaLiga, the world’s most followed football league.

Cricket’s Indian Premier League was third.

Four U.S. major leagues ranked in the Top 10 of the Hookit rankings based on April interactions.

Check out the full list of leaders in the video.

 

Europa League Scores On Italian TV

Despite the all-English final, the Europa League last night did well on Italian television for Sky Italia.

The match pulled 2.588 million viewers on Sky’s free digital terrestrial channel TV8 with a 10.4% market share. It also had 849,000 on the Sky pay-TV platform. Taken together, the combined audience made the match the number one show in Italian prime time yesterday.

In The Netherlands, Chelsea’s victory ran a relatively weak 12th in the list of biggest audienes. RTL7 has 749,000 viewers with a Dutch market share of 16.1%

Olympians Confirmed To Speak At iSportconnect’s 2019 Digital Masterclass

iSportconnect is delighted to announce that our 2019 Digital Masterclass will be held on Wednesday 26th June in the City of London.

The Masterclass will look at the world of digital to reach and engage with fans throughout the event lifecycle, hearing from expert speakers sharing their experiences of communicating with their target audiences. With the actual field of play action making up such a small window of fan engagement, how do you keep the conversation with fans going outside of the live event experience? Given the rapid development of new technologies and channels available to speak to fans, how do brands keep up? Are your strategies to keep up with the changes robust and nimble enough while staying effective and relevant in an ‘always-on’ and competitive fan environment?

The Masterclass will also look at how the individuals within the sports universe are taking the power of social media and digital channels to speak about causes and issues affecting the world of sport, and for the very first time, we have Olympic medalists sharing their experiences and insights on their abilities to influence the very core of sport through digital.

Callum Skinner is primarily known for his achievements in the Rio de Janeiro Velodrome when at the 2016 Olympics he claimed a gold, silver medal and an Olympic Record. After retiring in 2018, Callum is now Lead Athlete for Global Athlete – the athlete-led Movement for positive change in sport -and Head of Athlete Safety at Science in Sport, the first of its kind within the sports nutrition industry. Callum’s role is to see how they can further improve on our already industry leading quality controls. He will also help promote the extensive steps they take in providing a safe product to their athletes. In recent years, Callum has been a prominent voice on anti-doping, featuring on CNN, BBC and delivering a speech on clean sport reform at the White House. Callum also sits on both the Team GB and U.K. Anti-Doping Athletes Commissions. His skills lie in his knowledge and communication, and his ability to deliver a clear message on a very complicated and serious issue. He is widely considered one of the leading reformist-minded athletes worldwide, and has been a central figure in the recent uprising for athlete-led change to sports governance.

Rob Woodhouse has worked in the sports industry for 25 years, having previously represented Australia in swimming for 10 years where he won medals at Olympic & Commonwealth Games. The founder of Elite Sports Properties (now TLA Worldwide) in Melbourne in 1996, Rob has personally managed more than 30 Olympic & Paralympic champions in Australia & Great Britain. Rob currently represents British Olympic & Paralympic champions including Becky Adlington, Sir Chris Hoy, Adam Peaty & Richard Whitehead. Rob is also the General Manager of the London Roar team in the newly created International Swimming League which starts in October.

Hosted by leading Global Sports Communications expert, Ben Nichols (of Ben Nichols Communications), the Masterclass will feature a maximum of 150 invite-only delegates. iSportconnect provides a media/agency free opportunity to network with influential senior-level sports business executives. We are famous for our intimate and relaxed environment, encouraging ideas exchange and helping to introduce you to the right new connections.

To register your interest in attending the 2019 Digital Masterclass, please contact Chloe McCombie at info@isportconnect.com

Invitation Policy: The Digital Masterclass is a complimentary event for iSportconnect members who are from governing bodies, sports teams, brands and broadcasters. There is no fee to become an iSportconnect member. No sports agencies, professional service providers & suppliers are allowed.

For limited partnership opportunities, please contact Hugo Millns at info@isportconnect.com

HOK: Esports Will Change Future Venues

Global design firm HOK and software company SAP have published a new research report exploring the future of e-sports venues.

Over 450 million people will view an e-sports event in 2019, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in the global sports and entertainment industry. “Developing the Esports Arenas of the Future” explores the factors driving this explosive growth, the unique audience and how the e-sports venue of tomorrow will look very different than traditional sports facilities.

Key design features explored in the report include:

  • A non-traditional seating bowl
  • An immersive environment
  • Reimagined geometries and spatial organization
  • More intimacy
  • A blending of technology with the built environment
  • Hospitality-driven experience

“Purpose-built venues have historically had a significant impact in establishing a sport in a culture and community,” said Nuno Guerreiro, an architect at HOK and co-author of the report.

“Because of the length of these events and technological requirements, e-sports have a unique audience seeking more connected, hands-on experiences. Architects and designers have an opportunity to rethink every aspect of the traditional sports and entertainment environment—from a building’s location and form down to the seat.”

Guerreiro collaborated with Carlos de la Barrera, a senior sesigner at HOK, and Federico Winer, Head of EMEA for Entertainment at SAP, to author the report.

“The esports industry is growing faster than any other entertainment segment, with forecasted growth of 35% year-over-year for the next five years. We see endless opportunities for SAP’s technology solutions to influence and impact the experience for the whole value chain, from publishers to organizers to arenas,” Winer said.

“We are in the era of intelligent enterprises and corporations need to transform data into insights, providing optimal experiences for internal and external stakeholders. These proposed solutions for the future of the esports venues showcase the beginning of how advanced technology, paired with creative built environment solutions, can inspire innovation and digital transformation.

HOK’s Sports + Recreation + Entertainment practice has expertise in the design of arenas, stadiums, ballparks, training facilities and recreation centers. The group plans and designs world-class sports complexes that are centerpieces of successful, vibrant entertainment districts, communities and campuses.

Current and recent projects include FC Barcelona’s New Palau Blaugrana in Barcelona, Spain; Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the State Farm Arena renovation in Atlanta; Yas Arena in Abu Dhabi; Rogers Place and the Ice District in Edmonton, Alberta; Little Caesars Arena in Detroit; and the renovation of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

With offices around the globe, HOK designs buildings and spaces that respond to the needs of people and the environment. HOK designers are rooted in technical excellence, driven by imagination and focused on a solitary goal: to deliver solutions that inspire clients and communities.

Real Madrid Is Named Most Valuable European Club

LaLiga’s Real Madrid has overtaken Manchester United as the most valuable club in European football, worth approximately €3.22 billion according to KPMG in its new study study of the “enterprise value” of teams.

The report, based on the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, looks at profitability, broadcasting rights, popularity, sporting potential and stadium value.

This year, 13 clubs were valued in excess of €1 billion, one more than in 2018.

Eight clubs reported an enterprise value above €2 billion: five from the English Premier League, two from LaLiga, and one from Germany.

Real Madrid won the Champions League during the two seasons which the data covers. increasing its enterprise value by 10%.

The author of the report, Andrea Sartori, KPMG’s Global Head of Sports, said the overall value of the football industry has grown by 9% over the past year.

“The overall enterprise value of the top 32 clubs is driven primarily by an aggregate 5% increase in total operating revenues,” he said.

“On the other hand, staff costs continued to grow too, with the average staff costs-to-revenue ratio of the top clubs increasing by four percentage points, up to 63%.”

The top 10 teams in enterprise value are:

  • Real Madrid – €3.224 billion
  • Manchester United – €3.207 billion
  • Bayern Munich – €2.696 billion
  • Barcelona – €2.676 billion
  • Manchester City – €2.460 billionn
  • Chelsea – €2.227 billion
  • Liverpool – €2.095 billion
  • Arsenal – €2.008 billion
  • Tottenham – €1.697 billion
  • Juventus – €1.548 billion

Sartori added:  “At league level, the English Premier League has confirmed its absolute dominance, having nine clubs in the top 32 and accounting for 43% of the total aggregate value.”