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Washington Redskins Appeal Decision Cancelling Trademark

National Football League (NFL) franchise Washington Redskins have lodged an appeal against the ruling that ordered the cancellation of the Redskins’ trademark.

The Patent board voted 2-1 in June to cancel the trademark held by the Redskins. The appeal, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, will be heard by a federal judge.

“We believe that the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ignored both federal case law and the weight of the evidence, and we look forward to having a federal court review this obviously flawed decision,” said Bob Raskopf, the Redskins’ trademark attorney, in a statement.

The Redskins registered their nickname in 1967. In 1999, a panel voted to cancel the trademark, but that decision was overturned in 2003. A court ruled that the plaintiffs in the case should have filed a complaint shortly after the original trademark registration.

The Redskins’ complaint says that if the latest ruling isn’t overturned, it threatens the team’s First Amendment rights as well as it being “unfairly deprived of its valuable and long-held intellectual property rights in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”

Raskopf said in the statement, “The team is optimistic that the court will correctly and carefully evaluate the proofs, listen to the arguments, and confirm the validity of the Washington Redskins’ federal trademark registrations, just as another federal court has already found in a virtually identical case.”

The Redskins are still able to maintain their trademark during the appeal process.

The nickname has come under heavy criticism over the past 18 months, with numerous politicians coming out against the name. There were protests when the Redskins played on the road last season, with heavier showings in Denver and Minnesota.

But owner Dan Snyder has been adamant that he won’t change the name.

Former Deputy MLB Chief Greenberg Rules Himself Out of Running for Commissioner Role

Former MLB deputy commissioner Steve Greenberg has ruled himself out of the running from the soon to be vacant position as MLB Commissioner.

Current MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who has been in that role since 1998, is set to step down from the position next January and Greenberg was considered a strong candidate for the role.

But Greenberg didn’t fancy the role.

“Early on, I told Bud I was not going to be a candidate,” Greenberg said to USA Today. “I’m sticking to that. I’m comfortable with that. I gave it a try in the early 90s, and I’m not at a place in my life where it makes sense to me. I know what’s involved. It’s a 24/7, 365-day schedule that the commissioner has to keep to do it right. The three years I spent in the commissioner’s office was exhausting.”

Five Thoughts on the Adidas / Manchester United Deal – Ben Wells

Yesterday adidas and Manchester United announced the biggest kit deal in club football history. Here are five thoughts on the deal:

1. It’s proof that brand association can be more powerful than sporting success. That United still sell more shirts than any other club despite missing out on Champions League football and without a genuine global star in their ranks tells me that whilst heavy investment in a squad for the here-and-now can bring short-term commercial success, if you want to sustain it, you need to invest in your brand.

2. It’s bad news for everyone else. If adidas are returning to their position of a decade ago where they were focussing on a handful of mega-clubs then there will be no room for the multitude of smaller deals they have entered into more recently. There is only so much factory capacity in the world and expect those smaller deals not to be renewed. Ditto Puma/Arsenal. The smaller clubs are going to need to come up with something far more compelling than boards, boxes and 10,000 shirt sales to make the numbers add up. Long-term, the polarisation of the market is not a good thing.

3. It will be interesting to see the reaction from Stamford Bridge. Chelsea’s current deal is worth way more than it was in 2006 when adidas replaced Umbro but there is no comparing United’s footprint with Chelsea’s in Asia or the US (see thought 1) and whilst each Club attracts different audience segments (especially in Asia) the onus will be on Chelsea to differentiate rather than compete in those markets.

4. The new entrants into the apparel market are still fighting for scraps. The UK market has seen massive fragmentation in recent years but the new entrants are really going to have to invest heavily to gain the scale they need to make things work for them longer-term. The big boys are still out of reach. Is Southampton’s decision to do their own thing the start of a longer-term trend?

5. Where now for Nike in the UK? They still have Manchester City and England, but it’s interesting to see them letting Arsenal and Manchester United go in such quick time. Complete change of strategy ahead?

Ben has seventeen years’ experience on the marketing side side of sport. Having spent six years at Chelsea FC, where he was Head of Marketing and a year as Commercial Director at Reading FC, Ben has set up his own consultancy, specialising in improving business model elasticity through genuine long-term customer engagement programmes. Prior to his time at Chelsea, Ben spent nearly four years at Redmandarin, the strategic sponsorship consultancy. Follow Ben on Twitter @ben_wells1 This blog appears regularly at http://benwells1.blogspot.com.

Ben’s

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Bridging Cultures through Baseball: Southwest University Park – Richard Breslin & Mike Sabatini

Baseball has long been considered America’s game, and in turn, ballparks are America’s living rooms. Even beyond the Major Leagues, the complex farm system that feeds professional teams and the ballparks in which these Minor League teams play have become opportunities to drive interest and revenue and develop some of the most notable talent in the sport. While this farm system serves as an important training ground for Major League talent, Minor League Baseball is also inherently different than its Major League counterpart. Minor League ballparks are historically family-friendly, inexpensive and much smaller, more intimate experiences, while often located in smaller cities that are without professional baseball teams, providing the community, city and even region in some cases, with a ball club to rally behind and support. My colleague, Mike Sabatini, the designer of the $74 million Southwest University Park, the newest Minor League ballpark, in El Paso, Texas discusses how Minor League Ballparks can build community – and have a lasting impact.

There are only 30 Triple-A teams in the United States and even fewer playing in brand new, state-of-the-art facilities. In the world of the Minor Leagues, investing in a ballpark is an opportunity for teams to breathe new life into their fan base and reconnect with their community – much in the same way professional sports use their facilities as catalysts for growth. The city of El Paso, which sits less than two miles from the Mexican border city of Juarez, and MountainStar Sports Group, the owners of the El Paso Chihuahuas, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, were faced with a unique situation. They didn’t have an existing Minor League team in the city … and getting their ducks in a row to build a downtown stadium was an important component for the city and ownership group to entice and secure a franchise. From the get go, the ballpark design had to do more than just cater to an existing fan base; it had to create a compelling enough experience to build an entirely new fan base from scratch. Furthermore, the ballpark was designed to serve as the centerpiece for the revitalization of downtown El Paso, proving to baseball lovers and skeptics alike that the sport could thrive in this historic border city. All of this had to be accomplished within one of the shortest timelines ever seen in Minor League Baseball for the construction of a new ballpark – just more than 11 months from groundbreaking to opening day.

This appeared to be a hefty task, but one the Populous design team wasn’t afraid to tackle. Within a tight timeline and on the tightest site in Minor League Baseball six acres, Southwest University Park opened on April 28th. The final design has been recognized as “the best in the Pacific Coast League” and as much more than just a ballpark – it is an example of a grander vision for El Paso’s future. Some early steps in our design process played an important role in accomplishing this:

-Asking the right questions

In design, as community-centric as this ballpark is, it is critical to the design to bring together all stakeholders and ask them tough questions. We worked with the city and team and encouraged them to think beyond logistical concerns (i.e. how many seats, how many concessions, premium seating makeup) and instead think about what they saw as the long-term vision for the ballpark and the city. We asked strategic questions – from their aspirations to their concerns – allowing us get to the root of what the ballpark should look like and represent.

-Understanding the community

In addition to asking the big questions, we wanted our design to capture El Paso. Part of this was made possible through conversations with citizens, while another part of this was exploring, researching and studying the city’s history. Because of the city’s prominent architecture we chose brick similar in the style of El Paso’s Union Depot for the stadium exterior. The city’s art history made public art an important part of the design. Three separate pieces were commissioned by local artists, including a 68 foot tower of stained glass at the entrance that chronicles the city’s history. In addition, we made decisions to use the mural artwork concept in the ballpark, commonly seen in El Paso and Juarez, by opting for concession signage and wayfinding painted directly onto corrugated metal and brick.

-Finding a vision

We honed in on the characteristics that make the city unique: Its location on the border; the largest bilingual, binational workforce in the Western Hemisphere; the Franklin Mountains, the largest urban park in the nation; and a more than one hundred-year history with baseball. We discussed how our vision for the ballpark and the city’s future should honor these defining characteristics in an impactful way. This was illustrated naturally by the site, which offers views of the Franklin Mountains, downtown El Paso, the Rio Grande and the city of Juarez, just across the border. It was also evident in some of the more technical aspects of the design. The site required us to design a much steeper seating bowl than typically seen in Minor League Baseball. We also kept El Paso’s tight-knit community in mind and designed a variety of seating neighborhoods, from berm seating, to unique overhangs in the outfield, to brick structures in right field. We also wanted the ballpark to be accessible and a true part of the city. One of the ways we accomplished this is by making it possible for individuals outside the stadium to catch glimpses of the game along a fence at the right field entrance.

These components and details, however small or large, resulted in a ballpark solution that is far from formulaic – it’s a ballpark that belongs to El Paso. On opening day and the games thereafter we saw thousands of fans pack the stands, many of whom traveled across the bridge from Juarez to soak in a Chihuahuas game. In the vicinity surrounding the ballpark, drinking and eating establishments were full of fans enhancing the game experience, fulfilling the hope of many El Pasoans who wanted a vibrant downtown. They may not have been fans before, or have ever attended a baseball game before the Chihuahuas came to town, but the new ballpark has brought with it a sense of pride and of community that crosses all borders.

Richard Breslin is a Senior Principal at Populous and a Director of the Asian/Pacific office headquartered in Brisbane. Richard also sits on the worldwide strategic Board of Populous. Richard is responsible for all of the firm’s projects in New Zealand and Australia.

Richard is currently leading the Populous team on the Darling Harbour Live project in Sydney in a HASSELL+ Populous joint venture. The $750M project includes the design of a convention centre, exhibition centre and theatre. He is also Director in charge of the redevelopment of Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.

In 1997, Richard commenced work with the team on the design of Stadium Australia (now ANZ Stadium), the main venue for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. At this time, he also worked on the event overlay for the Games before moving to London where he worked on the design of the 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium, and the design of the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was also project leader for Populous’ successful master plan for the London 2012 Olympic Park.

In 2007, Richard immigrated to New Zealand, where he led the teams on Eden Park redevelopment in Auckland and Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin; – both were venues for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Richard’s

Mike is a licensed architect with more than 20 years of professional experience. Mike served as senior project designer for the Citi Field ballpark project, home to the New York Mets. During his professional tenure prior to joining Populous, he provided design services for a number of facilities.

Mike’s career has included such notable projects as Citi Field, TD Ameritrade Park, home of the Men’s NCAA College World Series, 1996 Atlanta Olympic Stadium, Bank One Ballpark, Fenway Park Renovations, Olympic Stadium in Guangzhou, China and University of Notre Dame Stadium renovations. He has also been involved in revenue enhancement projects for several professional and collegiate clients.

Mike’s

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FIH Awards Upcoming Hockey Tournaments to Spain, New Zealand & Netherlands

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has awarded upcoming international hockey tournaments to Spain, pharmacy New Zealand and the Netherlands.

The semi finals of the women’s Hockey World League (which is combined with qualifying for Rio 2016) will be hosted in Spain in 2015 with the climax of the league taking place in New Zealand in 2017. It was also announced that the men’s Champions Trophy in 2018 will be hosted in the Netherlands.

The women’s Hockey World League semi finals in June 2015 will take place in Valencia, drugs Spain. Ten teams will compete for four spots in the final round, anabolics and the competition will hot up as this stage (alongside the Belgium Semi Finals) doubles up as the qualification process for Rio 2016.

This is the first time that Spanish hockey fans will have the chance to watch top class international hockey since the country hosted the women’s Hockey World Cup in 2006.

FIH also announced that the final round of the women’s Hockey World League will take place in Auckland, New Zealand in November 2017. The eight finalists will compete in the newly developed North Harbour Hockey Centre, which will by then be known as the New Zealand National Hockey Centre. This showpiece event in the women’s calendar will be the first major use of the improved venue.

Finally, the Netherlands was chosen to host the 2018 edition of the men’s Champions Trophy at the Wagener Stadium in Amsterdam over June and July 2018. The venue successfully hosted the women’s Champions Trophy in 2011 as well as the European Championships in 2009. This six-team, champions event will be the first time that the FIH returns to the Netherlands following the World Cup which is taking place in the Hague in May and June this year.

London 2012 Sports Legacy Still Boosting Numbers Despite Latest Participation Drop-off

London 2012 is still boosting participation in grassroots sport according to the latest Sport England Active People survey but that there has been a significant drop-off in the last six months.

The findings for the six months to April are that 15.3m people are still playing sport once a week, every week – 1.4m more than 2005 when London won the vote to host the Olympic games.

However, that it is in contrast to when the first figures since the Games were released six months ago.

Then, 750,000 more people were playing sport each week than the year before – but that ‘Olympic factor’ appears to be fading with 220,000 fewer now playing sport every week.

That indicates that there was a big ‘spike’ in participation but that has now started to subside – although there are still half a million more people playing sport every week than there were a year ago.

In the report, Sport England point out that the unusually cold and long Winter – it was the coldest March for 50 years – may have had an adverse effect on the figures.

They stress that 71 per cent of the post-Olympic surge has been retained despite the weather and also that 3.86m 16 to 25-year-olds are playing sport regularly – an increase of 63,000 in the last year.

Schünemann (CDU): Ablehnung des DFL-Sicherheitskonzepts nicht akzeptabel

Der niedersächsische Innenminister Uwe Schünemann (CDU) ist davon überzeugt, doctor dass das Sicherheitskonzept der Deutschen Fußball Liga (DFL) morgen beschlossen wird. “Alles andere wäre nicht zu akzeptieren”, remedy sagte er im PHOENIX-Interview. “Wenn die Liga nicht geschlossen steht, buy ist klar, dass wir mehr Polizei einsetzen müssen. Das werden wir dann auch in Rechnung stellen.”

Einen “Sicherheits-Euro”, den der hessische Ministerpräsident Volker Bouffier (CDU) vorgeschlagen hatte, lehnt Schünemann ab. “Davon halte ich wenig. Wir sollten uns nicht in irgendwelche Preiskalkulationen von Vereinen einmischen. Wichtig ist, dass man in Sicherheit investiert. Wie sie das dann bezahlen, ist Sache der Vereine.” Schünemann forderte den Einsatz modernster Videotechnik.

Singapore’s Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme to be Reviewed in 2015

Singapore National Olympic Council’s (SNOC) Multi-Million Dollar Award Programme (MAP) will be reviewed in 2015, after the Southeast Asian Games, according to Lawrence Wong, a Member of the Parliament of Singapore.

Since 1991, a total of US$17.8million has been awarded to Singaporean athletes for winning medals at sporting games under MAP.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth, Lawrence Wong, said US$16.7million went to athletes, while US$1.09 million went to National Sports Associations.

The prize money was awarded for a total of 483 medals, including 336 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games medals, 62 Commonwealth Games medals, 82 Asian Games medals and three Olympic Games medals.

MP Nicholas Fang questioned whether the Olympic Council should continue with the programme.

“I think a lot of young athletes these days still view representing the country and winning for Singapore is an honour and reward in and of itself. Front loading the support from the MAP to the training and preparation process will be a more practical way of supporting sports men and associations,” he said.

“It also gives greater assurance to athletes coaches, sports associations and families that the support will be coming in at a very structured way from the start, more akin to giving somebody the petrol to drive from A to B, rather than saying you reach there, I’ll give you the petrol then.”

Wong replied: “It’s something we’ll be happy to discuss with SNOC and with the sports community in general. The member would be aware that there’s a differentiation between what the government funds through the SSC (Singapore Sports Council) and the MAP, which is an agreement between the SNOC and its sponsors, principally the Tote Board and the Singapore Pools, and other private sponsors. The agreement between the SNOC and its partners is subject to review from time to time, I think every four years. And this present agreement would be due for review in 2015 after the SEA Games.” {jcomments on}

New Levy Deal Agreed for British Horseracing

Gambling companies will have to cough up £72.9million ($116.4 million) to fund British Horse-racing following the Levy Board unanimously agreeing to the 52nd Levy Scheme.

The agreement comes a full week before the deadline for the 2013-14 scheme and the figure compares favourably with the £72.4million agreed on 12 months ago.

William Hill, Ladbrokes and Coral have agreed to guarantee that thier contribution will be no less than £45million while Betfair will make a contribution which is assumed to be around £7million.

The 52nd Levy Scheme will in most respects continue the terms of the current scheme, with a headline rate of Levy at 10.75% of bookmakers’ gross profits on British racing.

Levy Board Chairman Paul Lee said: “The Board is extremely pleased to have reached unanimous agreement.

“This will provide further stability and make possible significant additional expenditure on prize money in 2013.

“I would like to give recognition to Betting and Racing for the constructive approach that they have taken in seeking early resolution to the terms of the next Levy Scheme.”

It has also been announced that prize money allocations by the Board will exceed £50m, a rise of some 30% on 2012 and some 45% on 2011.

Tax laws threaten UK’s standing in international sport- Stephen Dunham

As the UK prepares to host the world’s largest sporting event the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, part of the so-called ‘Golden Decade’ of sport events to the held in the UK, the long term ability to compete to host major sporting events continues to be undermined by HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC) attitude and strategy to the taxation of the organisers and competitors at these events.

The danger is that the UK will be seen as ‘closed for sport’, deterring organisers from wanting to consider the UK as a location for their event and prompting athletes to question whether participation in an event staged in the UK should be included in their schedule.

The impact of losing or not being able to attract the world’s best events and athletes to the UK needs to be measured in more than pure economic terms alone. The recent enquiry by the Riots, Communities and Victims Panel into last Summer’s riots identified a lack of ‘belonging to society’ as a key factor, especially in the young and sport, more than any other activity, builds bridges, brings together all levels of society and develops a level of inclusion for the benefit of all.

So, how do we find ourselves in this position?

Taking athletes first, the UK revenue authorities, in line with most other countries, tax non-UK resident competitors on prize money and appearance fees attributable to matches or tournaments held here. However, in addition to this, HMRC also seek to tax a proportion of an athletes’ global endorsement income following their victory in a tax case against Andre Agassi back in 2006. The only other country that applies the same treatment to worldwide endorsement income is the US.

In addition, since their victory, HMRC has significantly changed the way it calculates how much of this endorsement income should be liable to tax.

Initially a proportion of overall deals which related to non-playing services (the ‘image’ element) was excluded from the UK tax calculation, with the ‘playing’ element simply pro-rated based on time spent in the UK in a particular tax year. However, in recent years, HMRC has sought to take a different approach by asserting the whole contract relates to ‘playing’ services and apportioning on the basis of the proportion of the events an athlete takes part in, which has the overall effect of yielding a higher return for HMRC.

The impact of these rules on athletes behaviour has already been seen with Usain Bolt declining to take part in the Aviva London Grand Prix in 2010, Rafael Nadal announcing he will not be taking part in the AEGON Championships at the Queen’s Club this year and the ATP considering moving the end of season World Tour Finals from London once its current deal expires in 2013.

Turning to the event holders, where they are also non-UK resident, such as International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIFA, UEFA, ATP, ICC etc, they could potentially fall within the charge to tax in the UK. The length of time the event holder is expected to be in the UK is the key issue as if they are regarded as having a ‘permanent establishment’ during that time they could be subject to tax as an entity. This is in respect of direct taxes, VAT is subject to different rules and is not considered here, though it too can have a significant financial impact on an event.

It is normal that the event holder will include as part of the conditions for a successful bidder, to indemnify the event holder from any tax liabilities that may arise on them as a result of being awarded the event. If a bidder is unable to offer such indemnities or secure exemptions from their revenue authorities, then it is unlikely they will be successful in securing an event, as was the case for the 2010 UEFA Champions League final, when UEFA cited the lack of certainty over the taxation of the event in its reason for choosing Madrid over London as the venue.

Because of HMRC’s unwillingness to alter the current rules, what we have seen is individual sports lobbying both Government and HMRC for specific event exemptions, which though ceded to in certain situations, has led to holders of UK based events demanding a level playing field as they consider the value of their events could be eroded if they are unable to secure the world’s best athletes to compete.