Sharks Sports & Entertainment (SSE), which owns and operates a number of sports properties, most notably the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. today announced changes to the structure of the company’s business operations. 

The company’s Board of Directors has approved a new organizational model designed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its business and hockey operations. 

As part of this new structure, the company has named John Tortora (formerly the company’s general counsel) to the newly created role of chief operations officer. All of the company’s business operations and administrative functions will report to Tortora effective immediately. Tortora will continue to report directly to the Board of Directors. 

Additionally, Jim Goddard, the company’s long-standing executive vice president of building operations is adding responsibility for all revenue and marketing activities for SSE and will report to Tortora. 

Doug Wilson remains the company’s executive vice president and general manager of hockey and will continue to lead all of the hockey operations for the organization. Wilson will also continue to report directly to the Board of Directors. 

SSE does not have any plans to hire a president or chief executive officer at this time. 

As a result of the new organizational structure, Malcolm Bordelon, Charlie Faas and Mike Lehr have stepped down from their roles and will be leaving the company.

Swiss-based marketing group Infront Sports & Media has reportedly extended its partnership with the with the Chinese Basketball Association by five years, despite financial losses incurred during the original seven-year contract.

The new deal is reportedly worth US$270 million and Phillippe Blatter, Infront’s President and CEO, said the amount of money involved reflects the league’s huge potential.

“It’s not just increasing financial commitment. It’s also a lot to do with know-how, expertise, innovation and passion that we invest. This is the most important value Infront adds,” Blatter said.

“I believe the next five years will be the time when we can jointly reap the fruits from all the efforts we made over the past seven years.”

“I think it has the potential to be one of the most successful and valuable sports leagues worldwide in the long run.”

Since partnering with the CBA, Infront has played a significant role in marketing the league’s commercial rights, optimising media coverage and developing the league to try to raise its international appeal.

At the end of last season, a cumulative TV audience of over 700 million had been reached, almost a 130-percent increase since 2005.

The league’s All-Star Game has become a big attraction in some of the country’s state-of-the-art stadiums, such as Beijing’s MasterCard Center and Guangzhou’s International Sports Arena. Last season, the game lured a record TV audience for the second consecutive season, reaching 100 million viewers.

Infront has yet to profit significantly but Blatter says the company is thinking ahead.

“We are investing in China for long-term success, not to gain short-term profit,” he said. “It takes time to develop a great product and we are definitely on the right track.”

Blatter has cited the increasing quality of the competition and support from sponsors as reasons for his faith in the league.

“First the product — it’s an exciting competition with national and international stars coming from the NBA, which is proof that the league has been recognized by the basketball world,” he said.

The CBA will have a greater TV presence this season, CCTV-5 will broadcast four live games plus three tape-delayed matches every week, aiming to surpass last season’s total of 2,912 hours of coverage.

More media exposure has attracted 23 sponsors, including Li Ning, which signed a five-year, US$321 million deal.

“The record Li-Ning agreement shows there is no better commercial and communication platform than the CBA today in China,” Blatter said. “With all these ingredients, I am very confident the league will continue to grow stronger. It is already now on par with other major international properties.”

The CBA is delighted to continue to partner with Infront.

“Over the past seven years, the CBA has made progress in terms of athletic performance, commercial value and social impact,” said CBA Vice-Chairman, Xin Lancheng. “Infront has been a key partner in this process and shares the association’s vision regarding long-term development.”

Blatter said the league still has room for improvement over the next five years.

“We want to raise the standard of the sponsor service, we want to improve our sponsors’ connection with the fan base,” he said. “Also, we plan to optimise the media production standards for all games. As a first step, starting this season, the TV production of CBA games will all be delivered with a consistent production standard. For the first time, the lighting in all venues will be the same level, which meets the broadcasters’ demands.

“Based on these improvements, we are very optimistic we can attract a larger audience and further improve viewing figures, also internationally. I am sure the best is yet to come for Chinese basketball.”{jcomments on}

 

Chinese sports brand Li Ning is undergoing a major overhaul and aims to increase its China market share by up to 40 percent in the next two years, its new chief executive said.

The Beijing-based company is currently going through a period of instability having brought in four new senior executives since replacing its chief executive in July.

First-half profit was down 85 percent from a year earlier, with revenue falling 10 percent to $621.6 million. The company has closed nearly a thousand stores this year, as its share price has fallen 35 percent.

The brand is now embarking on a three-year transformation programme to win a bigger share of the domestic market and improve profitability.

Li Ning plans to increase market share to 14 percent from its current 10 percent by overhauling its retail outlets, brushing up an image tarnished by vast inventories that forced clearance sales, and adjusting prices that have been “too high or too low,” said Jin-Goon Kim, executive director and vice chairman.

The company’s goal is to win the mass market in China by targeting consumers moving to big cities from the countryside, said Kim. “We want to be the leading brand in China, as opposed to the leading brand here and overseas,” Kim said. He also explained that Li Ning is aiming to sell to the 70 percent of Chinese consumers who aren’t yet buying branded shoes from companies such as Nike and Adidas.

“I don’t think we’re trying to compete with Nike,” Kim said.

Li-Ning h once made a big push into the U.S. by signing high-profile endorsers like basketball star Shaquille O’Neal, but has been discounting products to clear its shelves.

Excess apparel was ordered years ago in anticipation of sportswear shopping sprees by Chinese consumers following the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But many shoppers bought their clothes from new market entrants.

At the end of 2011, Li Ning had roughly 8,250 stores in China, 90 percent of them franchised. Li Ning has been reducing the number of stores to 7,303 as of June 30.

Kim said Li Ning plans to win market share by becoming a better retailer, analysing merchandising data to understand regional and product preferences, and creating innovative products, Kim said.

Kim said the company would likely cut prices on its basketball shoes to appeal to younger players. “We see the growth market with the middle tier,” he said.

Li Ning has already taken significant steps to try to change its image. The company recently agreed a five-year partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association and signed a contract with NBA Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade to create a Wade-signature “Dynasty” collection.

“We’re trying to understand the brand DNA that consumers want,” said Kim. “That wasn’t done well in the past.”{jcomments on}

Boston Red Sox owner John Henry denied a media reports today that team owners are quietly shopping the struggling team to potential buyers.

He said: “(Sox co-owner) Tom (Werner) and I speak 7 days a week. A sale of any kind is so far from our thinking it hasn’t even come up apart from technical planning issues involving death or disability, medicine ” said Henry in his email. “This report is completely without foundation. Regarding unnamed sources — any sale discussions that may have taken place were missing three key people — Larry, story Tom and me. The Sox and any of the other components of FSG are not for sale and will not be for the foreseeable future.”

Fox Business’ Charlie Gasparino reported that though no final decision has been made and talks appear to be in early stages, executives at Fenway Sports Group, which also owns the English football team Liverpool FC, are debating whether they have the money to run both teams, cited unnamed people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Forbes has valued the Red Sox at around $1 billion.

Though the team saved as much as $250 million through 2018 by unloading several players, sources pointed out to Fox Business that Henry’s investment company, John Henry & Co., has experienced poor performance. Sources added the biggest challenge for Henry is running two expensive sports franchises. Fenway Sports bought the Liverpool team for $476 million in 2010.

Fenway Sports also owns 80 percent of the New England Sports Network, where Red Sox games are aired, as well as the Boston Bruins. It remains unclear how the sports network would factor into any deal.

The Jockey Club, the largest commercial group in British horse racing, plans to increase prize money this year to 16.7 million pounds ($27 million) to help offset a decline in funding from the betting industry.

The prize fund, which the Jockey Club calls the “lifeblood of the sport” totaled 16.4 million pounds last year, up 3.4 million on 2010 when bad weather hit racing, it said on Wednesday.

The Jockey Club said the money was increasingly important to stables because of diminishing returns from a levy paid by the betting industry.

“We were able to afford to contribute more than ever to British racing in the form of prize money, despite the challenging economic environment around us,” said Simon Bazalgette, group chief executive.

“However, British racing is still significantly underfunded. We need the Government to press on with a legislative framework that allows racing to receive a fair commercial return from the betting industry.”

The Jockey Club said funds from the levy fell from 115 million pounds in 2007/08 to 65 million in 2011-12 because an increasing number of bookmakers moved operations offshore. The levy also does not cover wagers made via betting exchanges which connect punters online – a fast-growing activity.

Growth from major racing festivals, media rights, hospitality and sponsorship helped the Jockey Club to increase operating profit in 2011 to 19.2 million pounds, up from 18.3 million in 2010, it said.

Founded in 1750 and initially the sport’s governing body, the Jockey Club has evolved into the largest commercial group in British horse racing and reinvests its profits in the sport. Its 14 race courses also include Cheltenham and Newmarket.

According to the nation’s Sports Minister, Sri Lanka has been left with a deficit of more than US$24m due to co-hosting the recent International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup.

Mahindananda Aluthgamage told reporters that cost overruns in the stadium construction program had led to the deficit, although other economic benefits to the Sri Lankan economy are unlikely to be calculated for several months.

Aluthgamage stated: “We spent a lot of money to host the World Cup, to build two stadia and rebuild one stadium.”

Sri Lanka hosted 12 matches during the event in their role as co-hosts with Bangladesh and, their opponents and eventual victors in the final, India.

The country built two new grounds in the southern town of Hambantota and the central town of Pallekele, while $9m was splashed out on renovating R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Aluthgamage added: “We spent about five billion rupees ($47 million) on building the three World Cup venues.

“We are not in a serious cash crisis, but building new stadia costs a lot of money. You must look at it as an investment for the future development of the game.”

Sri Lanka Cricket treasurer Sujeewa Rajapakse said the board took a $21.5m loan from state-run Bank of Ceylon and another $3.5m loan from the International Cricket Council (ICC) to cover the shortfall.

Rajapakse said: “We are expecting $25 million from the ICC soon, by way of hosting rights. Once that comes, we can sort things out.”

Since defeat in the final, Sri Lankan bowling legend Muttiah Murilitharan has retired from international cricket whilst both captain and vice-captain, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have both stepped down from their posts.

The President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, check Carlos Nuzman, search  has expressed his desire to show how the Olympic Games can transform a city for the better to the world and future bidders for event.

The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympics will mark the first time that South America has hosted the Games and Nuzman is confident that it will mark a new and exciting chapter for the Olympic Movement.

Speaking at the Global Sports Forum on Saturday, cialis March 12, Nuzman stated: “I think we won the bid for a multitude of reasons.

“We wanted to lead the bid process without lobbyists, with a small team of six.

“Having the support of all politicians was also crucial for us, they all supported us from day one and they did not want to interfere.

“Our bid was seen as an outside one, nobody foresaw us winning, so we took each step as if it was the last one, telling ourselves that we could only do better.

“Now, my dream is to make Rio an example of a city or country which can change thanks to the Olympics.”

Some huge logistical challenges are facing Rio in organising such a massive sporting event for the first time, not least regarding transport, but Nuzman is confident in the plans that have been set down by the Organising Committee.

“We wanted to avoid all the sites being too close together, so we decided to pick four,” he explained.

“Our biggest challenge has been transport.

“The state of Rio will build two subway lines to cross the mountains and the City Council will take care of setting up four bus routes with a high level of service.

“Finally, we have to improve all of our airports.”

Nuzman also feels that the peacemaker unit put in place in 2009 will be able to counter any major threats in terms of security in the lead up to and during the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games

“Our other main challenge is our commitment to safety.

“In order to succeed, the State Secretary for Security in Rio de Janeiro has already created a peacemaker unit, which since 2009 has been working in the favelas to ensure security during the Olympics.

“I hope that this event will give the world the desire to discover our city and our country.”

Betting firm Betfair has signed a new two-year sponsorship deal with rugby union’s Super 15 competition in Australia, cheao order giving the company stadium and grass signage at the home grounds of all five Australian Super 15 franchises as well as advertising across Super Rugby’s digital platforms.

The deal covers every fixture hosted by the ACT Brumbies, order New South Wales Waratahs, Queensland Reds, Western Force and newcomers the Melbourne Rebels, but not games played in New Zealand or South Africa.

Betfair spokesperson, Hugh Taggart said: “The addition of a new franchise and the change to tournament fixtures means there are more local derbies and subsequently bigger Australian audiences both at grounds and through television coverage.”

While the value of the sponsorship has not been revealed, Taggart added: “Suffice to say we believe it represents good value. Super Rugby remains a pretty clear sponsorship space while rugby league is cluttered with corporate bookmakers. The deal should give us excellent exposure to a growing audience.”

Andrew Twaits, Betfair’s chief executive, said: “Its Betfair’s first foray into rugby union and this new partnership will help broaden our awareness nationally, crucially in the key New South Wales and Queensland markets.”

ARU chief executive John O’Neill, himself a non-executive director of rival betting firm Tabcorp, added: “Betfair has been one of our approved betting operators since early 2008 and their decision to become an official partner of Super Rugby in Australia builds on what has been a very good working relationship. The Australian Rugby Union and Betfair have had an open communication channel to ensure the game and the agency maintain their high level of integrity.”