Buffalo Bills sole owner Ralph Wilson has died at the age of 95, the team announced late Tuesday. 

Wilson purchased the club in 1959 for $25,000 as part of the American Football League, which began play in 1960 and later merged with the NFL.

The Bills, which were valued by Forbes magazine last year at $870 million, play in a home stadium that bears Wilson’s name. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.

“I speak for everyone within the Bills organization when I say that we are all suffering a deep and profound sadness with the passing of our Hall of Fame owner,” Bills President Brandon said in a statement released on the team’s website.

“We have lost our founder, our mentor, our friend and this is a very difficult time for us all.”

Wilson’s greatest impact might have been in bringing together the flashy upstart AFL and the NFL to create the Super Bowl and usher in the modern gridiron era, helping guide the league’s rise into America’s most popular sports league and one with global awareness and aspirations.

“He was a pioneer in the American Football League. He was instrumental in forging the merger between the AFL and the NFL,” Brandon said.

The Bills reached the Super Bowl four years in a row, a feat unmatched before or since, but lost each time.

“More than anything, he wanted to bring a Super Bowl Championship to Western New York,” Brandon said. “He wanted it for the players, the coaches and the franchise. But mostly he wanted it for the fans.

“No owner has wanted a title more for these reasons than Mr. Wilson. In the end, he was extremely proud that his Bills are the only team to have played in four consecutive Super Bowls.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell gave his condolences to Wilson’s family and praised the owner for his accomplishments.

He said: ““Ralph Wilson was a driving force in developing pro football into America’s most popular sport. He loved the game and took a chance on a start-up league in 1960 as a founding owner of the American Football League. He brought his beloved Bills to western New York and his commitment to the team’s role in the community set a standard for the NFL.

“As a trusted advisor to his fellow league owners and the commissioner, Ralph always brought a principled and common-sense approach to issues. His lifelong loyalty to the game was instrumental in his richly deserved induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. We are grateful for his many contributions to the NFL and offer our heartfelt sympathy to the Wilson family.”

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Worcestershire County Cricket Club have announced today they will rebrand the team to Worcestershire Rapids for the NatWest T20 Blast.

This season’s NatWest T20 Blast will see Worcestershire playing under their new T20 name which combines the now annual floods associated with New Road and the exciting type of cricket they hope to produce in the competition.

Worcestershire opted to drop the ‘Royals’ part of their branding last season as it clashed with the name intended to be used in the short form of the game by Hampshire.

The new branding is also at the forefront of what will be a revamped match day experience for spectators, with all age groups – but in particular the 18 to 35 group – being targeted.

Worcestershire’s Business Development Director Jon Graham explained: “Four day cricket is our bread and butter and our membership is vitally important to us, which is evident in that we generate close to half a million pound through membership each season. Whilst we will be known as the Worcestershire Rapids for NatWest T20 Blast, we will certainly be staying as Worcestershire CCC for both four day and one day cricket.

“However, we see a different audience that comes to watch this shortened format of the game and we need a brand that compliments that. We did a lot of internal soul searching over the last 12 months to come up with an identity that people can relate to.

“We thought of a name that combines the regular floods, and this time there literally were rapids lapping up against the side of the buildings at New Road, with the fast paced style of cricket that is synonymous with NatWest T20 Blast. The competition will produce rapid runs, rapid wickets and rapid cricket so I think people can really relate to that.

“It’s a fantastic identity to make sure Worcestershire is really up there with everyone else in terms of marketing strategy and, having a brand like Rapids, people can really associate with it. We should never forget the resilience of this fantastic club as we always come back in the face of adversity. This strength is testament to the staff at Worcestershire County Cricket Club, from CEO to part time staff, and the Rapids brand is an extension of this.”

As the Wallabies kick off their Grand Slam-Spring Tour of the United Kingdom and Europe at Twickenham this weekend, we’ve been reflecting on what is it that really makes a great rugby stadium and how to ensure these buildings keep evolving.

Record crowds turned up at almost every match during the recent British and Irish Lions 2013 Tour of Australia, and the stadia which were mostly built more than a decade ago, demonstrated they were all capable of easily accommodating record crowds. My colleague, Paul Henry, looks at what it was about these stadia that has made them so successful.

The series opener of the Lions Tour produced a ground record crowd at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane; the second Test at Etihad stadium in Melbourne also saw the previous record from the Lions Test 12 years previous, broken; and 83,702 supporters attended the final Test at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, a record for the venue since it was reconfigured after the Sydney Olympics.

What these stadia have in common is twofold:   they were designed to evolve over time, and they are atmospheric. That’s the Holy Grail of a live sporting experience whether its athletics, Australian Football League, soccer or rugby – it’s always all about the atmosphere.  The more intense the atmosphere the better and atmosphere is about how tightly the bowl can be configured so that the fan at the back of the stadium is as close as she possibly can be to the action on the field.

What makes those stadia interesting too is that they were all designed for different purposes, to capture the individual characteristics of their city, to be as relevant as possible to the people who live there, and to provide a legacy for the local community.

Etihad Stadium was deliberately designed for flexibility to attract a full range of sports and entertainment events. The fact that it has the tightest bowl that was possible for AFL, meant it is also a great stadium for rugby union, enhanced by its fully closing roof which traps the sound, adding to the intensity of the experience.  Suncorp Stadium was designed as a dedicated rugby stadium, and although it’s light and open to reflect Brisbane’s sub-tropical climate, the cauldron- like shape of the bowl with the configuration as tight as possible, is what gives it atmosphere.

ANZ Stadium in Sydney was different again. It was designed as a multipurpose Olympic stadium with an athletics track but it was also designed to adapt over time. It was reconfigured to a smaller rectangular stadium after the Olympics but still  flexible enough to enable continued modifications and additions even now, 13 years later, as technology and construction evolves.

The Wallabies aren’t playing in France on the Tour, but they’ll be back, and Paris leads the way in a new generation of rugby stadia. Taking its cue from the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff which would be hard to beat for that spine tingling atmosphere during the final of the Rugby World Cup, the new FFR Grand Stade in Paris will be much more than a stadium. The 82,000 capacity venue will be the ‘national stadium of rugby’ with a retractable roof to ensure the most intense  atmosphere, but its retractable pitch which can be rolled out of the stadium to reveal a concrete slab, enables the flexibility for a range of conventions, entertainment and other sports. We have learnt, and continue to learn, tremendous lessons from our involvement in the design every one of these stadia as well as the New Zealand stadia which hosted the Rugby World Cup, and we use this experience as the basis of our research moving forward.

The new frontier of rugby stadia and the way they and other stadia will continue to evolve in the future is in the realm of technology – personalised technology reaching every fan in a new unique way. Emerging technologies like robust Wi-Fi and data mining will allow teams to track the buying patterns or users and identify hotspots or popularity of items in the stadium, while new technologies such as Google Glass will provide exclusive opportunities for fans at the game to connect directly to live action on the field.

There are great opportunities ahead and an exciting and continuing challenge for designers and venue operators as we all continue to try to achieve a balance between providing a venue that is a great fan experience at the live game and the best possible experience for the ever growing remote audience, at home.

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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.

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, reviewing initial designs for Homebush Olympic Park.

Following the successful delivery of the 2000 Summer Games, Richard worked on the design of the 90,000 seat Wembley Stadium, before leading the design team for two stadia constructed in Portugal (Estadio da Luz in Lisbon and Estadio Algarve in Faro) in preparation for the UEFA Euro 2004 soccer competition.

In 2006, he was Project Leader for the design of the Soccer CIty Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He was also appointed project leader for Populous’ successful master plan for the London 2012 Olympic Park. Populous designed the main stadium for the London Olympics and was part of the Overlay team for the Olympic Park.

In 2007, Richard emigrated to New Zealand, where he led the teams on the design of the 60,000 seat Eden Park redevelopment in Auckland and the 30,000 seat Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin, the first fully covered fixed roof stadium with a natural grass pitch. Both were venues for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Richard is now working on a range of projects in Australia and New Zealand, including the sports hub which is part of the blueprint for the rebuilding of Christchurch, following the earthquakes.

Richard’s 

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Paul is an internationally recognised expert in the design and master planning of stadia, racecourses, arena and the planning of Olympic Games. He is an Australian architect with worldwide success and sits on the global board of the specialist architecture practice, Populous.

He is currently leading the Populous team bidding for a new Perth Stadium; he led the team designing the Sydney Olympic Stadium, and is joint project director on the Sydney Convention Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct at Darling Harbour in Australia.

Many of Paul’s stadium designs have become a centerpiece for a city’s development. Governments throughout Asia invite Paul to lead discussions on the procurement and design of sports facilities to best suit the needs of a city and its community. Paul is also an international speaker and has addressed the IOC in Lausanne, Switzerland; and the World Sports Summit in Beijing, China and the inaugural Brunei Sports Convention& Expo last year.

Paul’s 

 

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FIFA have postponed its plans to reveal the cost of tickets for the 2014 World Cup amid the continued protests against the tournament in Brazil.

World Cup organisers had earmarked Monday for the announcement about ticket prices for next year’s tournament but have now postponed the press conference in Rio de Janeiro until later in July after protests continued in the aftermath of Brazil’s 3-0 Confederations Cup final triumph over Spain. 

Brazilians have been demonstrating in huge numbers throughout the Confederations Cup as they question the amount being spent on hosting the World Cup, money which many feel could be better used elsewhere to improve the country’s infrastructure. 

Although Jérôme Valcke, Fifa’s secretary general, claimed the decision to postpone the announcement until 19 July was down to logistical reasons, many will question whether the demonstrations that have taken place in Brazil about the lack of investment in public services at a time when so much money is being spent on hosting the World Cup, forced Fifa to change strategy.

“We want to look at all the issues we have faced at the Confederations Cup,” Valcke said. “We want to avoid having 10,000 tickets that are not collected two days prior to the game.” Valcke added that there would not be a “big difference” in pricing from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where match tickets ranged from £14 (for local residents only) to £630.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter insisted next year’s World Cup would be “outstanding”, despite the series of violent clashes between police and protesters, including the firing of tear gas and rubber bullets outside the Maracana Stadium on Sunday. 

Blatter told a news conference: “Thanks to all those who have helped to make this competition such a success, despite the unrest and protests. 

“I am happy to come to the conclusion now, with the sporting results and also – with at least the impression that – the social unrest is now resting. I don’t know how long but it is now resting. 

“I am sure that we will have a wonderful World Cup next year. When you have the World Cup and the Olympic Games you can never make everybody happy. We tried to make everyone happy.” 

Jose Maria Marin, president of the Brazilian football confederation, condemned those who have used violence as part of their protests, saying: “Any peaceful demonstration must be respected … it is part of democracy. I will not accept robbery and violence and mobs – nobody wants this kind of thing.”

Tickets to be Cheapest Ever

FIFA also said that Brazil would sell cheapest-ever tickets for next year’s World Cup.

Valcke hinted that 70% of the matches this time will cost less as compared to the previous events.

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Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), find which brought the ‘Everest of Sailing’ to the Arabian Gulf for the first time in 2012 has revealed the stopover will return to Abu Dhabi in 2014.

“Our involvement with the Volvo Ocean Race captured the imagination of our people, who have strong maritime heritage links,” said Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Chairman, TCA Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi made waves on the global sailing scene with its hosting of the world’s premier offshore sailing race in January 2012. The event galvanised the emirate’s watersports industry with a wealth of sailing centres, yacht charter companies and state-of-the-art marina facilities coming online over the last 12 months, with more expected.

TCA Abu Dhabi believes the return of the ‘Everest of Sailing’ and its Emirati development programme, which saw Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing’s UAE national crew member Adil Khalid become the first Arab to competitively circumnavigate the world, will re-energise the emirate’s credentials as a world-class watersports destination.

“This second campaign will further galvanise the emirate’s grass-roots sailing development and again give us a global platform on which to promote our deep-rooted maritime heritage,” added Sheikh Sultan.

Abu Dhabi’s 2014 stopover will once again be focused on the purpose built Destination Village – the size of eight football pitches – on the city’s stunning Corniche breakwater.

“Abu Dhabi staged a truly original and massively appealing stopover during the last edition, with its own unique feel, and its return to the campaign will strengthen the legacy of the race in the city and the country,” said Volvo Ocean Race CEO Knut Frostad.

“I’m sure Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing will be among the challengers for overall honours this time. This announcement marks the beginning of another chapter for sailing in the United Arab Emirates.”

Abu Dhabi will welcome the Volvo Ocean Race fleet on Leg 2 from Recife, Brazil, after it departs from its starting port of Alicante, Spain. Leg 2 is expected to take a month to sail.

Re-elected for another term as President of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in September, allergist Dr Rene Fasel has formulated a strategy to address numerous points to develop the game around the globe, order with player safety being the primary objective.

“We have to make sure the game is played fair, that it is safe. Many perceive hockey is a violent sport, which it clearly is not. I want to change those people’s perception, so they see hockey as the fun and educational sport it really is. Mothers should not hesitate to send their kids to hockey practice,” told iSportconnect.

“We have implemented a player safety working group, which will be a combined effort between the IIHF, the NHL and the NHLPA and will look at various ways – be it changes to rules, equipment or age limits – to improve this aspect of the game.”

The current image of ice hockey as a violent sport, constantly interrupted by outbreaks of brawls, is a perception that has longed discouraged parents outside the usual strongholds of the United States, Canada, Scandinavia and Russia from permitting their children from taking up the sport.

With the untapped opportunities in Asia, ensuring that the sport’s nonviolent nature transmits through to the public is vital in activating such potential.

Any chance of success is dependent on drilling the ‘player-safety’ message into the sport’s the most renowned entity, National Hockey League (NHL), but while the League continues its squabbles and remains locked-out, focus will shift to Europe and the developing Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Currently, the KHL have imported stars from the NHL on rolling-contracts, providing an ideal opportunity to market the league and expand its fan base across the continent.

The next four years in office will the last for ice hockey’s first ever representative in the IOC, having served for eighteen years. That being, the staff should expect a ‘very pushy’ administrator, as Fasel continues to battle evils, such as match-fixing and doping, and grow the sport around the world.

Read Dr Rene Fasel full featured profile here

Australian clothing brand SKINS has filed a law suit against the International Cycling Union (UCI) seeking $2 million in damages and alleging that the sport’s governing body lacked leadership in the fight against doping.

“The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has been served with a demand for $2 million by leading sports compression wear company SKINS, seeking damages caused by alleged mismanagement and the Lance Armstrong doping scandal,” SKINS said in a press release. 

“SKINS, which has been a commercial supporter of world cycling for the last 5 years, has also cited UCI President Pat McQuaid and Honorary President for Life, Hein Verbruggen for their handling of a crisis which SKINS alleges is the main cause for the significant loss of confidence in professional cycling by the public and harms the company’s international reputation as a consequence.”

The UCI has come under heavy criticism for their handling of anti-doping in the wake of the Lance Armstrong scandal.

Armstrong was banned for life and stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) published a report claiming the Texan had used performance-enhancing drugs and organised doping to build his success.

“As a supplier and sponsor, SKINS has been concerned that cycling’s tarnished image which is the result of years of cheating and doping, that manifested itself in the Lance Armstrong case, is damaging to a brand that is associated with a series of commercial cycling partners across the world including USA Cycling, Cycling Australia, Bike NZ, Rabobank Cycling, Team Europcar, Team Lotto Belisol and Team NetApp,” SKINS added.

“Amongst others, SKINS was the provider of high tech race suits to the USA Olympic Cycling team for the London Olympics.”

The USADA report contained statements from former riders Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis alleging the UCI had covered up an Armstrong positive test from the 2001 Tour of Switzerland.

The UCI and the laboratory that handled the test have denied any cover up, saying Armstrong had not failed a dope test in 2001 although a sample came back as “suspicious”.