An L.A. City Council committee “moved to launch a formal working group and trigger an independent financial analysis to review AEG’s plans to construct” a downtown National Football League (NFL) stadium yesterday, 19 January.

AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke was “well received in his first presentation” before the council’s committee on Trade, Commerce & Tourism. During the meeting, he said: “There are one or two teams ready to move… At least one team will come if we build it”

However, committee Chair Janice Hahn stated after the meeting that there is “reason to move on the massive project expeditiously.”

Rugby administrator Greg Peters has been named the new chief executive of South Africa, New Zealand and Australia Rugby (SANZAR).

Former Wellington Hurricanes chief executive, Peters becomes the first permanent head of southern hemisphere rugby’s governing body.

SANZAR has previously been administered on a rotational basis between each of the three member unions.

Peters said: “It’s rare to have an opportunity such as this one to lead a major rugby organisation through a significant growth phase.

“I am sure there will be challenges but that’s what makes sport so compelling, and the strength of the SANZAR alliance and the major competitions speak for themselves.

“The Tri-Nations features the three top-ranked teams in world rugby and we are about to welcome Argentina who finished third in (the 2007) World Cup.

“In Super rugby, we have the world’s most demanding cross-border provincial rugby competition and that intensity is set to increase with the new conference model, so there is no more exciting time to get involved.”

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have announced that they will stage another tournament in China next season with the launch of the WTA Elite Trophy.

The new event, which will take place in Zhuhai, effectively replaces the current Tournament of Champions for rising stars of the tour which this year will be held in Sofia at the end of the season. 

The replacement will see the best players who don’t qualify for the WTA Finals in Singapore head to southern China. In theory, this will be those ranked between nine and 20 in the WTA rankings.

Taking place the week after the WTA Finals, the new event will operate on a round-robin basis with four groups of three in the singles. The winners of each will progress to the semi-finals.

There will also be a six-team doubles field split into two groups. The winners will meet in the final.

Zhuhai has been given a five-year deal to stage the tournament which will offer a prize fund of US$2.15million in 2015.

The city joins Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and Tianjin as Chinese WTA venues.

WTA boss Stacey Allaster said: “This brand-new event combining great players, a fantastic new stadium, and the magnificent location of Zhuhai is a formula that will make the WTA Elite Trophy a success.”

The Big West Conference and Learfield Sports announced an exclusive five-year agreement in which Learfield will serve as its dedicated sponsorship sales partner.

The collegiate multimedia rights holder already is aligned with the Big West through exclusive rights agreements with five of its nine member institutions – Cal Poly, buy CSUN, medicine Long Beach State, physician UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara.

Learfield will establish a local team known as “Big West Conference Sports Properties” to office at the conference headquarters in Irvine. Learfield Sports will actively sell all Big West Conference assets and tournaments, including the men’s and women’s basketball tournament at the Honda Center in Anaheim next March. The agreement takes effect immediately.

“We’re elated to partner with an industry leader like Learfield Sports to help us grow our corporate relationships and leverage our assets,” said Big West Conference Commissioner Dennis Farrell. “With 40 years in the business and a deep connection right in our very own footprint, we look forward to working with the Learfield team to bolster our complete offerings at the league level. This is a great day for the Big West.”

Gresini Racing have announced a deal to run Aprilia prototypes in MotoGP from next year, in an agreement which extends to 2018.

This partnership will allow Aprilia Racing to take advantage of Gresini Racing’s significant contribution in terms of MotoGP experience and know-how. Gresini Racing will manage Aprilia bikes on track in MotoGP for four years, starting from the 2015 season.

Fausto Gresini, Team Manager, commented, “I am very glad that Aprilia identified Gresini Racing as the ideal partner to enter the MotoGP World Championship. I would like to thank the Piaggio Group for giving me a fantastic opportunity, that is working closely with such a glorious manufacturer; an Italian brand that has become synonymous with a passion for racing, reaching amazing results worldwide.”

“The four-year agreement between Gresini Racing and Aprilia opens a new chapter in our history: in this moment I feel a great responsibility, but the motivation to succeed in this exciting, all Italian challenge is even bigger. The Grand Prix world is part of the Aprilia brand and to represent it in the premier class, the MotoGP World Championship, is a source of great pride for all of us. An incredible reward for the work done in all these years by Gresini Racing.”

The National Hockey League (NHL) have announced the Washington Capitals will host the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic

The game will take place on Jan. 1, 2015 with the Capitals’ opponent and location of the game to be announced at a later date. 

“The excitement of the Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic continues to grow, and bringing the 2015 event to the D.C. area will write another chapter in the game’s great history of entertainment,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, “We are looking forward to being in Washington with the Capitals’ great fans.” 

The 2015 game will mark the seventh Winter Classic, an annual game that Forbes magazine called the best new sporting event of the last decade. It will mark the second time in history the Capitals will play an outdoor game. Washington defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 in front of 68,111 fans at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh on Jan. 1, 2011. 

“We are extremely excited to host the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic and bring this great event to the D.C. area,” Leonsis said. “Our great fan base deserves to experience the magnificence of an outdoor game. We are thrilled to once again be part of this great event.” 

The 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic between the Capitals and Penguins aired in primetime on NBC and was the most-watched NHL regular season game ever in the U.S. with an average of 4.5 million viewers. The event also drew the largest audience on CBC for any of the U.S.-based outdoor NHL games. 

Alexander Krasnenkov, the head of Russia’s national federation, has revealed they will consider bidding for the basketball World Cup in 2019.

“We’re looking at 2019, that’s when the World Cup is scheduled for,” federation head Alexander Krasnenkov told R-Sport.

“We’re capable of hosting the football World Cup, so why can’t we hold the basketball one too?”

Krasnenkov added the Russian Basketball Federation had originally planned to bid for Eurobasket 2017, but had been told to abandon the plans by the government because Russia is hosting several major sports events at that time, including the 2018 football World Cup.

“We talked to the Sports Ministry. The ministry asked us not to put in Russia’s candidature until 2018. The country has gathered a lot obligations for the period until 2018 and needs to host a lot of major competitions,” he said.

Russia has never hosted the tournament, although the Soviet Union won it three times and Russia won silver in 1994 and 1998.

France and Germany have signalled they may place a joint bid for the 2019 World Cup, as have the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Puerto Rico has also been linked with a possible bid.

The Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee has revealed a licensing agreement with the X5 Retail Group, thumb a major player in the Russian grocery market.

The agreement was signed by the President of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, and the Director of Corporate Affairs of X5 Retail Group, Mikhail Susov.

Under the agreement X5 will become an official Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee retail sales operator. The sales of the Sochi 2014 licensed merchandise will be organized in 45 Russian regions in 3500 shops of its stores – Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel. In the coming year X5 expects to sell about several million units of Sochi 2014 licensed merchandise.

Thanks to this deal, Olympic retail sales volume for the Games of 2014 is expected to reach an all-time record for the history of the Winter Games with the total number of official Sochi 2014 retail stores growing to 4,300.

The President of the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, commented:”Sochi 2014 Olympic retail sales volume will rise to a new level thanks to cooperation with one of the largest Russian retailchain.

“We are transitioning to the more convenient retail sales format for the customer, when one can buy Sochi 2014 merchandise close to his home. This really is a unique way to promote the Sochi 2014 brand through the popularity and broad coverage of X5 stores so that Sochi 2014 goods will now be very visible.”

The Director of Corporate Affairs of X5 Retail Group N.V., Mikhail Susov, added: “The Games in Sochi is a historic event for our country. We are proud of the fact that the X5 Retail Group, who’s Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel stores serve around 2 billion shoppers every year will become a part of history and make their contribution to the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the development of mass sports in Russia.

“X5 has always tried to be the best in the retail market, and we are very pleased that the Sochi 2014 Organizing Committee appreciated the opportunities and potential of our retail chains to promote the Sochi 2014 licensed merchandise. X5 Retail Group has extensive experience selling licensed merchandise, and now this list of products will complement the Sochi 2014 lineup, which, I am convinced, will be in high demand among our customers.”