LA 2024 releases virtual reality experience of UCLA Olympic and Paralympic Village

LA 2024 unveiled today a virtual reality experience that allows viewers to see how athletes will live at its ready-made Olympic and Paralympic Village at UCLA.

The VR experience is available as a 360-degree film through the bid’s social media platforms and will be at LA 2024’s exhibit at the IOC’s candidate city briefing on 11-12 July in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Next week it will also be available through Jaunt app on all VR platforms.

The VR experience transports viewers to UCLA’s campus and allows them to see and experience the proposed Village firsthand. The VR experience shows the viewer how the athletes will eat, sleep, and train during the Games.

UCLA refurbishes its housing facilities every seven years, which means that all will undergo at least one round of renovations by the time athletes arrive in 2024. At 60 hectares, LA 2024’s proposed Village would be the second most compact in the last six

At 60 hectares, LA 2024’s proposed Village would be the second most compact in the last six Summer Games. All residents will be less than 50 meters from internal Village shuttle stops and less than 300 meters from all essential dining, fitness, recreation and entertainment services.

Today’s announcement is part of the bid’s #FollowTheSun to Olympic Agenda 2020 campaign: 20 activities in 20 days to show how LA 2024 would contribute to the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, Olympic Agenda 2020.

LA 2024 Vice Chair and Director of Athlete Relations Janet Evans said: “As a bid led by athletes for athletes, LA 2024 puts the athlete experience at the centre of our Games plan. We are excited to share how athletes will eat, sleep, and train at our Games-ready Olympic and Paralympic Village through our new, immersive virtual reality experience.

“With its beautiful and modern residences, state-of-the-art training facilities and award-winning dining options, UCLA is just one of our many existing facilities that will deliver an unprecedented athlete experience during the Games.”

San Jose Earthquakes and German Football Association agree to collaboration

 The San Jose Earthquakes and the German Football Association (DFB) have agreed to a multi-year collaboration focused on knowledge exchange, game development and machine learning.The collaboration presents both

The collaboration presents both organisations an opportunity to take a global leadership role, centred around capturing new insight from an objective-driven match and performance analysis.

“We are excited to enter into this collaboration with the German Football Association as we have formed a strong understanding and connection as to how we want to continue to deliver an insight-driven message to our players and coaches,” said Earthquakes General Manager Jesse Fioranelli.

“Driven by two landscapes rich in talent and innovation, both organisations are committed to making an increasingly fast game even smarter, one player at a time. In doing so, we are strengthening our long-term investments in our respective player development programs.”

The two organisations will test new trends through joint research and development clinics and focus groups in an effort to gain critical feedback from players and coaches to be implemented in their respective programs.

The collaboration will further allow both organisations to strengthen their presence and investments in youth development and cutting-edge sports technologies.

Part of the agreement is forming research and development expert teams and subsequently hosting R&D and coaching clinics, both in Germany and the U.S.

“The collaboration with the San Jose Earthquakes is a wonderful opportunity for the DFB to develop training content and diagnostics further,” said Markus Weise, head of the DFB Academy’s conceptual development unit.

“The Earthquakes, just like so many other organisations in Silicon Valley, are truly embracing technology and are challenging the status quo. Their innovative approach is perfectly in line with our ambition here at the DFB and our Academy. We want our player development program to become the standard of excellence in global football.”

 

How Turner and the NCAA transformed a legal necessity into a fan data capture opportunity

During this year’s March Madness, thousands of fans flocked to Phoenix to take part in the 2017 Final Four festivities.

Fan Fest and Tip-Off Tailgate events gave supporters an opportunity to take part in youth basketball clinics, contests, free throw challenges, sweepstakes, and more.

While this was a valuable chance for those in attendance to engage with their peers, Turner Sports and Umbel also combined forces to collect data from some of their biggest fans.

The companies deployed digital waiver forms at all of the fan events, requiring supporters to fill them out before taking part in the fun.

The digitized waivers were easily accessible on iPads as well as a Final Four event app that fans could use on their personal devices.

A legal necessity was subsequently transformed into a fan activation opportunity, allowing Turner to collect 22,000 adult names and email addresses.

With these names and email addresses, Turner used Umbel to start the process of reaching out their core fanbase.

This included the ability to:

  • Enrich profiles with valuable demographics and other data points including household income, family size, and more.
  • Combine existing fan data with who filled out waivers for more complete fan profiles.
  • Analyze and visualize what fans who participated in Fan Fest and the Tailgate were interested in, so they could make these events even better.
  • Activate fans with future campaigns to bring them back to other events they would be interested in, sell them relevant merchandise, and keep them engaged with content.

Unibet agrees Australia Supercars Championship deal

The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship has announced Unibet as the official betting and wagering partner for the next two years.

The Australian betting agency will be featured at Supercars events through broadcast, on-track signage, consumer promotions and activations, with a strong focus on digital content integration to give fans a deeper understanding of the statistics behind the sport.

Supercars Managing Director Matt Braid said Unibet recognised the significant reach of the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and the national brand platform it presents.

“The high quality, intense competition of our sport delivers excitement to millions of passionate fans which make Supercars the ideal partner for Unibet,” Braid said.

“We are pleased to partner with one of Australia’s and the world’s leading sports betting agencies.”

Unibet’s Head of Marketing & Operations, Julian Timmins, said:  “Unibet Australia is looking forward to working with Supercars to ensure fans are as well informed as possible when watching and betting on their favourite teams and drivers. We see Supercars as a fantastic platform to engage with and inform punters.”

Unibet’s partnership with the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship starts at this weekend’s Watpac Townsville 400.

Crabbie’s extends Scottish Rugby sponsorship deal

Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer has today extended its agreement with Scottish Rugby for a further two years and also agreed to become the official sponsor of Scottish Rugby match officials.

The Crabbie’s logo will appear on the official jerseys of all Scottish Rugby match officials in BT Premiership games and across all BT leagues and cup matches as part of the deal.

The brand is set to capitalise on increased brand visibility at major matches as well as a number of sampling and hospitality events across the forthcoming season.

Toni Blackhurst, Scottish Rugby’s Head of Marketing and Sponsorship, said: “We are delighted to renew our relationship with Crabbie’s and continue this great partnership. BT Murrayfield is renowned for providing fans with a fantastic day out and working with brands like Crabbie’s, we are able to cater for our wide demographic of fans and enhance our matchday experience.”

Senior Marketing Controller for Crabbie’s, Michelle Chadwick, added: “Crabbie’s alcoholic ginger beer is showing its support to the man in the middle – referees have the hardest job officiating one of the world’s most physical, technical, and fast-paced sports.

“We are very proud of our Scottish heritage and after a hugely successful season in Scottish Rugby it was an obvious development to grow our partnership together. Crabbie’s is committed to grassroots rugby and is looking forward to another great season ahead.”

Euroleague Basketball names DraftKings its Official Fantasy Partner

Euroleague Basketball today announced a new partnership that makes DraftKings the Official Fantasy Partner for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.

DraftKings will bring its expertise as the global leader in daily fantasy sports games to help EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge undergo a makeover and offer fans several new fantasy games and opportunities in both the EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.

DraftKings plans to develop a variety of fantasy products based on the EuroLeague, offering games with the most diverse and up-to-date features on the market for the upcoming 2017-18 season.

DraftKings has collaborated on daily fantasy sports products with an array of professional leagues, including Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, NASCAR and the Canadian Football League.

Formula One makes new push to raise profile in China with Lagardère Sports deal

Formula One today announced its ambitions to raise the profile of the motor racing series in China, using its global popularity as a premium entertainment property to open up further growth opportunities in the country.

With a new management team in the driving seat, Formula 1 is revolutionising the way the sport is marketed and experienced globally, and as part of its wider strategy to broaden the appeal of the championship in key growth markets, Formula 1 has appointed sports marketing agency Lagardère Sports to help secure strategic partnerships in China from 2018 onwards.

Lagardère Sports will use its vast network, expertise and market knowledge in the country to identify and secure strategic partners for Formula 1 in areas including event promotion, media rights, digital and brand partnerships, merchandising, talent development and racing team development.

Sean Bratches, Managing Director, Commercial Operations at Formula 1 said: “We have a proud and longstanding relationship with motorsport in Asia, working with some great motor race circuit owners and successful race promoters from Singapore to Suzuka in Japan through to Shanghai in China.

“Across the region, Formula 1 fans have proven themselves to be some of the sport’s most passionate supporters with over 8.8 million* people attending race weekends since 2004.

“We are keen to build on this, developing our brand through unique live entertainment experiences designed to get fans closer to the action.

We’re delighted to be working with Lagardère Sports, whose knowledge of the market in China will help establish long-term benefits for all our partners and brands that we work with.”

Andrew Georgiou, Chief Executive Officer, Lagardère Sports and Entertainment said: “Having advised clients in the region for over 20 years, we’ve seen first-hand the enormous growth to date in the live sports and entertainment market in China; and also the new opportunities presented by the emerging middle and upper classes.

“Sports fans in the country, as well as media platforms and sponsors alike, are craving premium, local and live sports and entertainment, supported by quality digital content and meaningful fan engagement.

“Through this new partnership together we will work with Formula 1 to develop premium local content for the Chinese market, in a way that the sport deeply engages with local fans and becomes part of the Chinese sporting culture and fabric.

“We’re delighted the Formula 1 management team has trusted us to use our global insights and network, combined with our local expertise and knowledge within China, to help develop their brand, fan base and appeal to media platforms and sponsors.

“It’s a very exciting time to be supporting Formula 1.”

Betfair and Juventus announce multi-year partnership

Betfair and Juventus Football Club have announced the signing of a multi-year agreement that will make Betfair the Official Gaming and Betting Partner of Juventus, starting from the 2017/2018 season.

The comprehensive partnership includes branding and visibility inside the Allianz Stadium and Juventus Training Center, access to the Juventus players for marketing and communication activities and use of the Official Juventus logo, with the term “Official Gaming and Betting Partner” in all Brand Communication activities.

Betfair was the first brand to bring a betting exchange to Italy.

“We are very proud to announce this partnership with Juventus, which has in its DNA values and characteristics we think are winning in sports as well as in the business, such as prestige, leadership and ambition,” said Claudio Di Zanni, Betfair Italy Country Director.

“We believe that this partnership can create great opportunities for our customers and for all football fans.”

“This Partnership is integral to the global strategy of Juventus by developing strong relationships and agreements with innovative Brands such as Betfair, that are worldwide leaders in their industry,” added Giorgio Ricci, Co-Chief Revenue Officer & Head of Global Partnerships and Corporate Revenue of Juventus by announcing the new partnership.

One week to go until iSportconnect London Directors’ Club with LaLiga and WTA Presidents

Today marks ‘one week to go’ until the next iSportconnect Directors’ Club in London and there is only limited availability remaining for delegates.

Special guests Javier Tebas, LaLiga President, and Micky Lawler, WTA President, will be interviewed individually before taking questions from an esteemed audience.

There will also be ample time for delegates to network with their fellow executives throughout the event, which will take place on July 12.

Chatham House rules will be strictly adhered to, as with all iSportconnect events, encouraging a free exchange of ideas within a relaxed atmosphere.

The evening-only event will be hosted at Coutts’ Strand office in central London.

Contact Daniel (daniel.wexler@isportconnect.com) to register your interest.

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IOC publishes Evaluation Commission 2024 report

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today released the report by the Evaluation Commission on Los Angeles and Paris, candidate cities for the Olympic Games 2024.

The candidate cities are the first to receive the full benefits of the significant changes that have resulted from Olympic Agenda 2020, the IOC’s strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement.

“Members of the Evaluation Commission have used the terms ‘forward-looking’, ‘innovative’, ‘vibrant’, and ‘cool’ to describe the Los Angeles candidature, and ‘historical’, ‘cultural’, ‘iconic’ and ‘amazing backdrops’ for that of Paris,” says the Chair of the 2024 Evaluation Commission and IOC Member Patrick Baumann in the report.

“However, whatever the description, it truly is a tale of two great Olympic cities. The two projects are different in nature, but each city presents a proposal which is genuinely authentic and reflects the best of what each has to offer,” he adds.

In line with the reforms of Olympic Agenda 2020, both Los Angeles and Paris are planning to use a record number of existing and temporary venues, a first in Olympic history.

The report takes is presented in three parts:

  • A 15-minute video describes the value proposition of the two candidatures and highlights key features of each proposal.
  • An assessment of essential elements for planning and delivering successful Games, grouped into four broad categories: Games Concept, Games Experience, Sustainability and Legacy and Games Delivery.
  • A number of technical documents, including photographs of and key information on proposed competition and non-competition venues in each Candidate City, demonstrating the depth of analysis and due diligence carried out.

The report concludes the work of the 2024 Evaluation Commission, which visited the two Candidate Cities in May.

It will be the key reference document for IOC Members in the lead-up to the 2024 Candidate City Briefing on 11 and 12 July in Lausanne and the final vote that will take place during the 131st IOC Session on 13 September in Lima (Peru).

“Los Angeles is one of the most entertaining sports and leisure destinations on the planet; Paris has a history second to none. On any given day, people around the globe enjoy Hollywood offerings of great storytelling and showcasing technology, while at the same time they dream of visiting Paris, one of the world’s most dazzling tourist destinations,” Baumann added.

“With the support, enthusiasm and passion of their citizens and athletes, Los Angeles and Paris have presented the best of their cities. And their best is as good as it can possibly get for the Olympic Games.”

To access the full report click here.