Super Bowl seating issues took another turn recently after a group of fans revealed that they are suing the National Football League (NFL) and the Dallas Cowboys due to being denied seats to last weekend’s ‘Greatest Show on Turf’ despite having paid thousands of dollars for tickets.

The lawsuit was filed after the league admitted to mistakes that left about 400 paying supporters unable to watch Super Bowl XLV in person, and other Cowboys’ season ticket-holders watching from temporary metal chairs with obstructed views.

Fans filed the lawsuit late on Tuesday (February 8) in federal court in Dallas, accusing the league and team of breach of contract, fraud and deceptive trade practices and are seeking class-action status, more than US$5m of damages and unspecified punitive damages.

The league had invited the 400 affected fans who paid for tickets but did not get a seat at the game to a future Super Bowl of their choice and also offered the choice of a cash payment of $2,400 – three times the face value of the ticket – or round-trip airfare and a hotel. 

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated: “We are ultimately responsible for the fan experience and we want it to be the best it can possibly be.” 

The lawsuit contended that the NFL knew of seating problems before the game, but failed to tell fans in advance. It also accused Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of causing the problems with the hope of setting a Super Bowl attendance record. He fell short by 766, after some temporary seats were deemed unusable. In his attempts to break records, Jones efforts saw many fans ending up watching the game in standing-only positions.

The lawsuit also accused Jones of deceiving Cowboys season ticket-holders known as ‘founders’ into paying $1,200 a seat for Super Bowl tickets, only to be offered temporary metal fold-out chairs, many with obstructed views of the field and the stadium’s giant overhead video board.

Lead attorney Michael Avenatti told Reuters: “Frankly, it is astounding to us that the Cowboys and the NFL would treat its fans like this. What is perhaps even more amazing is that they still haven’t done the right thing.”

The PGA TOUR and InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms have announced a deal to enter into a five-year integrated marketing partnership. Beginning in 2011 the agreement will make IHG an official partner of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour in the hotel and resort category.

In addition, Crowne Plaza^® Hotels & Resorts will extend its title sponsorship of the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial through until 2015.  Crowne Plaza has served as title sponsor of the historic event since 2007.

Jim Abrahamson, President, The Americas, IHG stated: “We are extremely pleased to announce this new long-term relationship with the PGA TOUR, which includes extending our sponsorship of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. This partnership provides a terrific opportunity for IHG to showcase all its eight brands and bring to life our award winning loyalty program for fans as well as the PGA TOUR’s membership base of players from around the world.”

PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem added: “We are delighted to extend our tournament sponsorship with Crowne Plaza and to expand our relationship with InterContinental Hotels Group. The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is one of the most storied tournaments on the PGA TOUR, as well as one of the leading tournaments in terms of charitable giving, and Crowne Plaza’s sponsorship is important to continuing this legacy. Also, by welcoming IHG as an Official Marketing Partner, our players – as well as their families and caddies – will receive valuable benefits and room options throughout the year.”

As an Official Marketing Partner of the PGA TOUR, IHG will provide a variety of benefits to players, including:

• * A designated number of room nights for players across all three Tours
• * Platinum status in the Priority Club® Rewards program for all members
• * Preferred rates for all players, caddies, media partners and PGA TOUR staff across all of IHG’s brands
• * For several players who participate in a special program that includes personal appearances with IHG guests at tournaments and/or use of their name and likeness, additional benefits will include an increased number of complimentary room nights per year

IHG also will invest in PGA TOUR assets including media, special events, TPCs and charitable activities. PGATOUR.COM will feature a “hotel finder” on the tournament pages that will allow fans to easily book hotel rooms at one of IHG’s 4,500 properties when traveling to these events.

After announcing that the distribution rights had been agreed by the BBC to air horse racing’s premier flat season climax event, British Champions Day, it has now been revealed that the broadcast company have obtained international rights to distribute worldwide. BBC have acquired the rights for the 2011 and 2012 event as part of the deal.

The new event concept will take place at Ascot in October of next year and will become the circuit’s richest card with a total prize fund of £3m (US$4.65m).

Danny O’Toole, acting sports sales manager at BBC Worldwide, said: “British Champions Day and British Champions Series mark the start of an exciting new era in British racing. This new race day and series promises to rejuvenate the sport and become a major television event, and with BBC Worldwide’s longstanding association with British racing, we’re thrilled to be taking the broadcast coverage to a new generation of racing fans worldwide.”

Karl Oliver, chief executive of British Champions Series, added: “We are delighted to be launching British Champions Series in 2011, which can have a hugely positive effect on the future of our sport.  We look forward to working with BBC Worldwide to develop British Champions Day into one of the world’s most famous race days and the fantastic new climax to the British racing’s premier flat season.”

The World Bowls championship broadcast rights have been handed to Input Media by the BBC. The tournament, which takes place in January, will be covered by Input Media for 2011 and 2012 under the agreement of a new two-year contract.

David Johnson, Managing Director, Input Media, said: “Input Media is delighted to be appointed as producer for the BBC’s coverage of the World Bowls Championships. This is a prestigious event with a great history and complemented by our team’s expertise in sport production we’re sure this will be the best Championships ever for the BBC audience.”

Money is being raised by a group calling itself the Hornets’ Business Council to buy tickets for National Basketball Association (NBA) side the New Orleans Hornets and encouraged local businesses to do the same.

The efforts are being made in an attempt to prevent the team from moving outside of New Orleans after majority owner George Shinn revealed that he was selling the team to the league. This has sparked fears that the team could be shipped out of New Orleans by prospective buyers.

Michael Hecht, president of Greater New Orleans Inc. stated: “The Hornets franchise is important to economic development, the team is also important to our civic pride and quality of life.”

The group has raised US$250,000 in 48 hours to be used to purchase tickets and boost attendance at games. The ticket sales boost is an attempt to stop the rates falling below an average attendance 14,735 which would spark a clause in the teams lease at the New Orleans Arena that would allow them to leave after this season.

The effort to boost ticket sales began last week when Gov. Bobby Jinidal and Mayor Mitch Landrieu solicited community support to pack the arena and support the team.

A massive deal has been struck which will see GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) acquire the Maxinutrition Group Holdings Limited for around £162m (US$253.7m). The company, who produce protein enhanced functional nutrition products, used by a vast array of sportsmen and women, will now relinquish 100 per cent of their shares to GSK in a deal which is subject to approval from the Office of Fair Trading.

Last year’s sales from Maxinutrition, which includes flagship product Maximuscle, totalled at approximately £36m ($56.4m) for the fiscal year ending in April 2010. GSK’s reach will now branch into wider categories, complementing its existing nutritional healthcare business.

John Clarke, President Consumer Healthcare, said: “This deal will give GSK a strong presence in the fast developing protein-based sports nutrition market, appealing across a broad spectrum of consumers from elite athletes to sports participants and those seeking additional nutritional supplementation.

“GSK will invest behind Maxinutrition’s science-proven products to extend the growth of Maxinutrition within its UK and European footprint and expand to the global marketplace, where GSK has existing infrastructure and capabilities.”

Netball took the first step on the road to joining the Asian sports family by making a presentation to the Olympic Council of Asia’s Sports Committee on Thursday. A popular women’s team sport in several countries around the world, thumb mainly from the Commonwealth, arthritis netball’s goal is to become recognised by the OCA and join initially the SEA Games and Asian Indoor Games.

The presentation was made by Cyrus Medora, Executive Director of Netball Singapore and Treasurer of the Asian Netball Federation. Describing the sport as “dynamic and exciting”, he played Sports Committee members a short clip of the recent Commonwealth Games final between Australia and New Zealand in Delhi.

Mr. Medora explained that the International Netball Federation (IFNA) had 68 members from Asia, Europe, America, Africa and Oceania, and IFNA was the sole internationally-recognised governing body.

With a global playing base of 20 million, netball has been a recognised Olympic sport since 1995 and has featured in the World Games in 1985, 1989 and 1993. The top 10 countries in the world rankings are: 1, Australia; 2, New Zealand; 3, England; 4, Jamaica; 5, Fiji; 6, South Africa; 7, Malawi; 8, Trinidad and Tobago; 9, Samoa; 10, Cook Islands.

The Asian Netball Federation has 13 full members and five associate members, with a secretariat in both Singapore and Australia.

The Asian rankings based on based on the 7th Asian Netball Championship in 2009 are: 1, Sri Lanka; 2, Singapore; 3, Malaysia; 4, Thailand; 5, Hong Kong; 6, Chinese Taipei; 7, India; 8, Maldives; 9, Pakistan.

The World Netball Championship 2011 will be hosted in Singapore next July, when the world’s top 16 teams will be competing and ESPN will be the broadcaster for worldwide coverage.

One of the key issues for netball to be recognised by the OCA is for the various netball associations to be part of their National Olympic Committee, as some of the Asian members are not recognised by their own NOC.

Samsung, viagra a TOP sponsor of the Olympic Games, ampoule has partnered with VisitBritain to help promote Britain as a popular tourism destination before, during and after the Olympic Games.

At a high profile event held beneath the iconic Tower Bridge today, Gyehyun Kwon, Vice President & Head of Worldwide Sports Marketing, Samsung Electronics, David Song, Managing Director of Samsung UK & Ireland and Sandie Dawe, CEO, VisitBritain revealed the detail behind an exclusive agreement designed to help promote Britain as a compelling destination for tourism before, during and after the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The agreement sets out the commitment to celebrate the Games in Britain and make available fresh information and content provided by VisitBritain to be preloaded on the Samsung Galaxy Tab from December 2010.

Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games said: “The London 2012 Games will be a fantastic way to showcase the best this country has to offer – to the spectators, tourists, athletes and media alike. Now visitors will have a chance to find out the best things to do and see in Britain, making sure their experience during the London 2012 Games is the best it can be.”

Secretary of State for Media, Culture and Sport, Jeremy Hunt, commented, “The London 2012 Games provide a fantastic opportunity to boost UK tourism and stimulate lasting economic growth. The Government is investing around £50 million in tourism marketing, and challenging industry to match that to create a £100 million marketing fund to capitalise on 2012 and beyond. This partnership between VisitBritain and Samsung is a great example of what can be achieved when the public and private sectors come together. The UK has one of the most vibrant and varied tourism offers in the world and innovative ideas like this, along with our new marketing fund, will help to encourage more visitors to our shores.”

Sandie Dawe, CEO VisitBritain added, “This exciting partnership with Samsung is about creating an increase in tourism in Britain in the run-up to the London 2012 Games and after. VisitBritain believes that by sharing stunning images, video and information that shows Britain at its best we will encourage people in growing markets around the world – and particularly younger travellers – to visit. We hope that tourists who consult the Samsung-VisitBritain app will be inspired to explore the whole of the UK.’’

Reflecting on the announcement, Mr. Kwon of Samsung Electronics offered: “Samsung is committed to Britain and London 2012. Customers can look forward to consuming exclusive content from VisitBritain on the Galaxy Tab and we hope this combination of great content on a great wireless device will enrich the experience for all of us.”

Samsung renewed its contract with the International Olympic Committee as a TOP sponsor of the Olympic Games in 2007, through to 2016.

Atlanta based Helios Partners, in a joint statement with its sister company Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.), announced the formation of Helios Partners Europe, a new business unit that will capitalize on the opportunities and rapid growth of the sports marketing industry throughout Europe.

Helios Partners Europe will focus on global business development in close collaboration with A.S.O. The unit will be led by Chris Renner, a 20-year industry veteran who most recently oversaw the company’s Beijing-based division as President of Helios China. While assuming responsibility for developing the European market, he will continue to oversee Helios’ operations in China. With Renner’s relocation to Paris, Helios establishes a centralized European operation that will provide an ideal foundation for aggressive growth through stronger alignment and resource efficiencies with A.S.O.

“We are looking forward to sharing our skills with Helios Partners Europe, who will bring to the business its strong bid city and brand consulting expertise in relation to big events such as the Olympic Games. The blending of our complementary strengths will create additional value for our clients and events alike,” said Yann Le Moenner, CEO of A.S.O.

Renner began his sports marketing career in Switzerland with ISL Worldwide. During the late 1990s, Renner developed ISL’s Asia Pacific business. Along with opening offices in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo, Renner also oversaw development and sales of a record-breaking sponsorship program for the Asian Games. Moving to Beijing in 2005, Renner developed Helios Partners into one of China’s leading sports marketing consultancies, representing international blue-chip clients and some of the country’s most prestigious brands including FedEx and Lenovo, as well as a roster of sports properties such as Major League Baseball International and FIFA.

“I am energized by the prospect of working with our partners at A.S.O., who have a proven expertise and record of success in all areas related to the creation, production and promotion of sporting events,” said Renner. “In addition, with the next two Olympic Games taking place in London and Sochi, we have an excellent opportunity to leverage Helios’ collective sponsorship and consulting experience to grow our business in the UK and Russian markets.”

Serving a wide range of global clients, with offices in Atlanta, London, Paris and Beijing, Helios Partners specializes in sponsorship consulting, sports property representation and bid city and organizing committee consulting.

A.S.O. is a global leader in sport event management, owning and operating 25 events across four continents, with world-renowned properties such as the Tour de France, Dakar Rally and the Paris International Marathon among those in the company’s portfolio.