The World Championship FIM Speedway Grand Prix series is set to return to the southern hemisphere in 2015 at the Etihad Stadium, asthma Melbourne.

The 2015 FIM Speedway World Champion will be crowned Down Under after BSI Speedway, medstore rights holders of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) series, medic signed a five-year deal to stage the Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix at Melbourne’s state-of-the-art Etihad Stadium.

The largest indoor motor racing spectacle in the Southern Hemisphere sees SGP action return to Australia on October 24, 2015; the first time it has featured Down Under for 13 years.

With everything from FIM Speedway World Championship medals to 2016 FIM Speedway Grand Prix qualification places set to be decided at Etihad Stadium, BSI Speedway managing director Paul Bellamy is delighted to be bringing the series home to the country where speedway was born in the early 20th century.

He said: “Australia is one of the true superpowers of world speedway and it has been a long-term goal of ours to take the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series back Down Under.

“The SGP series has visited some fabulous venues across the globe and Etihad Stadium is up there with the very, very best of them.

“Melbourne lives and breathes motor sport and sport in general. We hope Melburnians, Victorians and fans from all over Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world embrace the event next year.

“Despite the retirement of triple world champion Jason Crump and record 10-time Aussie champ Leigh Adams in recent years, the production line of world-class Australian talent just keeps rolling.

“I’m sure the likes of Chris Holder and Jason Doyle, who has qualified for the 2015 series, will be absolutely elated to be racing in such a big meeting on home soil.

“Their fans spend most of the season getting up in the early hours of the morning to watch them in action live on the Speed channel. I hope they will enjoy the opportunity to support them at Etihad Stadium, and at a far more civilised hour!”

Etihad Stadium is situated in Melbourne’s CBD, surrounded by shops and restaurants and adjacent to Southern Cross Station – the city’s main transport hub.

As well as hosting some of the world’s top music artists, the venue stages everything from AFL (Aussie Rules) and cricket to soccer and darts.

Paul Sergeant, chief executive officer of Melbourne Stadiums Ltd, owners of Etihad Stadium, looks forward to bringing more world-class sport to a world-class venue.

He said: “Bringing FIM Speedway Grand Prix racing to Etihad Stadium has been on our agenda for some time and is a tremendous coup for Melbourne. We’re looking forward to an exciting five years of SGP action and are in no doubt it will become a hugely popular event.

“We’re proud to be staging and promoting the Australian FIM Speedway Grand Prix, which will be privately funded.

“The SGP series is spectacular. It’s in an easy to follow format with fast and exciting racing. Here at Etihad Stadium, air horns will be more than welcome, so the noise will be something special under our roof!

“With adult tickets starting at $49 AUD, this is a fantastic opportunity to see the best riders in the world live, without spending the thousands of dollars needed to travel to Europe.

“We’re also looking forward to working with Australian Speedway legends Jason Crump and Leigh Adams, who will serve as Australian SGP ambassadors. It’s an honour to have them on board and we hope the event will help the current crop of Aussie stars become legends in their own right.”

Ticketing provider Paciolan has announced that Purdue University (Purdue) has renewed its 32-year partnership with the company.

With the long-term partnership renewal, Purdue will continue to leverage Paciolan’s industry leading ticketing, marketing and fundraising solutions, and has implemented the company’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and data warehouse solutions.

The university will also continue to utilize Paciolan’s strategic partnership with secondary ticketing marketplace provider StubHub. Purdue has been a Paciolan partner since 1982. Paciolan is a subsidiary of the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm Comcast-Spectacor.

“Our partnership with Paciolan has allowed us to achieve success and expand our initiatives through the leading tools in college athletics,” said Morgan Burke, athletics director at Purdue. “For more than 30 years with Paciolan, we have ensured our fans and donors consistently enjoy a personalized experience and can utilize cutting-edge solutions when they engage with Purdue Athletics.”

“Our continued partnership with Paciolan has enabled us to stay ahead of technology and offer an enhanced fan experience,” said Barb Kapp, senior associate athletics director of business at Purdue. “This past season we were able to offer both mobile ticketing and delivery to our students, enabling a completely digital solution. Programs like this, as well as the hands on support we receive from Paciolan, have been invaluable to our success.”

Cape Verde are set to fight FIFA’s ruling resulting in them being kicked out of the World Cup qualifying competition by appealing to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).

Cape Verde, who beat Tunisia 2-0 away to finish top of African Group B, forfeited the match after FIFA ruled that defender Fernando Varela had been ineligible to play.

Tunisia were awarded a 3-0 win which put them top of the group and into the playoff round in Cape Verde’s place.

The Tunisians have already played the first leg of their playoff, drawing 0-0 at home to Cameroon last month.

Varela was banned for four matches after being sent off in an earlier Group B game against Equatorial Guinea, which Cape Verde lost 4-3.

That result itself was overturned, and the game awarded to Cape Verde 3-0, after FIFA ruled that Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue, who scored a hat-trick, was not eligible to play.

Cape Verde argued that the red card and subsequent ban should not have counted as the match had been declared void.

The Lausanne-based tribunal said on Tuesday it had registered the protest, although it could not yet give a date for the hearing and decision.

A report from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), South Korea’s top professional baseball league, revealed that its revenues last year were the largest ever.

The Korea Baseball Organization Properties(KBOP), the marketing wing of the KBO, said that the league earned US$32.9million in baseball-related businesses in 2012, surpassing the previous record US$32million record set in 2011.

The eight KBO clubs drew about 7.15 million fans last year, the first time that the KBO’s attendance reached more than 7 million since the league’s inception in 1982.

The KBOP revealed that the league earned a record US$60.4million in ticket sales in 2012, up from US$52.1million 2011. The league’s TV contract with local broadcasters accounted for US$23.6million, corporate sponsorships brought in US$7.6M. The league gained US$1.9million from merchandise sales.{jcomments on}

British Cycling has reached 50,000 membership mark, more than doubling its membership since 2008, the sports governing body announced today.

The milestone comes during the sports greatest ever summer with just over two weeks until the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  

British Cycling’s President, Brian Cookson OBE, said: “British Cycling signing up its 50,000 member could not come at a better time for our sport. We’re in the midst of the Tour de France where Britain is hoping to secure its first ever winner, we’re a matter of days away from Team GB competing at London 2012, and we’ve seen a huge spike in cycling participation numbers with over 160,000 more people getting on bikes.

“We of course owe our success to a number of factors – the investment from Sport England and UK Sport, our partner Sky and our sponsors – but critically, we need to thank our members, clubs, regions and volunteers – the people who have helped to get cycling in the best shape it has ever been in.

“There have never been more opportunities to cycle and our ambitions remain high. We’re now looking ahead to the next four year funding cycle where we hope to grow the sport further with more rises in participation, building of state-of-the-art facilities, and inspiring tens of thousands more members to join us on the journey.”

In April 2007, British Cycling membership was at just 20,000 members. Last September, the sports governing body announced that membership had doubled to 40,000. Today’s announcement has added another 10,000 people to its member count. 

Four time Olympic champion and British Cycling member, Sir Chris Hoy, said: “I’ve been a member of British Cycling for over 20 years and I’m really proud to be a part of, alongside 50,000 others, the massive growth of the sport and its governing body.

“We’re gearing up for our home Olympics which is going to be an amazing experience for everyone, and British Cycling members should be very proud of the role they’ve played in helping the sport thrive at all levels. Membership isn’t just for people who want to compete – there are benefits for everyone getting on a bike – and I hope the Games will inspire thousands more people to take up cycling.”

From developing the sport in BMX, Mountain Biking, Track and Road to creating entry level cycling opportunities for people of all ages and abilities, through programmes such as Sky Ride, Breeze and Go-Ride, British Cycling is helping drive a cycling boom worth nearly £3 billion to the UK economy.

To facilitate the growing demand for its sport, British Cycling continues to run a range of coaching qualifications and courses and its Go-Ride development programme supports young people in over 250 clubs and schools.

It has deployed Regional Events Officers to support its regions in organising and co-ordinating over 3,500 sporting and non-competitive events and work also continues to bring major international cycling events to Britain and to develop cycling facilities.

British Cycling also continues to influence the government and its members have been instrumental in campaigning for road safety, taking important issues to the heart of Whitehall.

British Cycling membership provides support and benefits to all types of cyclists. Members enjoy discounts from top cycle retailers, cycling publications and get legal support and insurance. Fees are invested straight back into the sport and are used to develop cycling facilities, future talent and grow participation.