Despite Rory McIlroy’s heroics, Hoylake’s attendance for the 2014 Open Championship were at a sharp decline compared to the last time the venue hosted the event.

The event attarcted 26,059 fewer spectators than when the tournament was last played on the Wirral links in 2006.

A total of 202,917 fans watched Rory McIlroy’s triumph during the week, down on record figures of 228,976 when Tiger Woods won eight years earlier.

The third major championship of the year had returned to Royal Liverpool and The Open rota for the first time since 1967 in 2006.

Numbers were down on practice days and each day of competition, though the biggest single drop occurred on Friday, with 43,183 spectators at Hoylake, down 7,343 from 2006.

Despite Saturday’s weather forecast of a “significant risk” of thunderstorms prompting the R&A to switch to a two-tee start for the first time in championship history, 39,398 fans made the journey to the course, just 4,714 fewer than eight years before.

Sunday’s figure of 42,149 was down 2,008 on the previous championship’s final day

“He was giving me grief all day, actually,” McIlroy said. “I sort of put up with it for the first 15 holes and then he deliberately coughed on my downswing on the 16th tee. I still hit a great drive but I heard it halfway down and I knew who it was. So I turned around and got him chucked out, thankfully.”

The figures are still a major improvement on last year, when 142,036 spectators were at Muirfield to see Phil Mickelson’s victory. The R&A said a heatwave could have contributed to the low attendance, although ticket prices of £75 were also blamed.

NBA franchise Brooklyn Nets have revealed plans to build a state-of-the-art, $45 million practice facility.

Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) will be the naming rights partner for the facility, which will be known as Hospital for Special Surgery Training Center. The Nets Basketball Operations Department will be relocating from its current practice site in East Rutherford, NJ, and will be bringing more than 60 full-time jobs to Brooklyn.

“I am thrilled to see the Nets complete their move to Brooklyn by building their state of the art practice and training facility in Sunset Park and creating over 200 jobs in the process,” said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. “And I applaud them for ensuring the local community also has a home in this facility — with job fairs for Sunset Park residents, community events for young people, and investments in the neighborhood’s quality of life.”

“We are thrilled to have the HSS Training Center become the new Nets’ practice facility,” said Irina Pavlova, President of Onexim Sports and Entertainment. “With its proximity to Barclays Center and the vibrant Sunset Park neighborhood, Industry City is the perfect location for it. Now, our arena, training center and offices will all be together in this great borough. The team’s ownership is committed to making the Brooklyn Nets a championship caliber team, and a best in class team deserves a best in class training center.”

As part of the naming rights entitlements, HSS will receive branding on the interior and exterior of the facility and the Nets practice jerseys will feature the HSS logo. 

HSS is also building on its nine-year relationship with the team by becoming the Official Hospital of the Brooklyn Nets beginning with the 2014-15 NBA season. As the official hospital, HSS will receive signage, player appearances, integration into a grassroots community marketing activation, and specialized content on BrooklynNets.com.

“As the nation’s leading orthopedic hospital, HSS is deeply rooted in the growth and development of New York City,” said Louis A. Shapiro, President and CEO of HSS. “We have grown with the Nets from East Rutherford, to Newark, and finally to Brooklyn. We are thrilled to be a part of this landmark project by putting our name to HSS Training Center, while continuing to provide Nets players with the best in musculoskeletal care.”

According to a news release, the training center will occupy 70,000 square feet on the eighth floor and rooftop of the historic waterfront warehouse. Its amenities will include two full basketball courts, a weight room, a training pool and two hydro pools, a rooftop entertainment space, an 18-seat multimedia theater, 3,000 square feet of hospitality/players’ lounge space and a media interview/workroom.

“Our partnership with HSS is an ideal fit,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center. “We bring together two recognized brands defined by performance, community commitment, and global reach. HSS Training Center will be serving world-class athletes, while also making a difference in the borough as we utilize the facility to mentor and inspire young Brooklynites.”

 

Formula One Management has signed a new deal with The Canadian GP which will keep the Montreal event on the Formula 1 calendar until 2024.

This year’s race took place on the weekend and saw Daniel Ricciardo take his maiden victory.

As part of the long-term arrangement, organisers will invest $32m (£17.4m) in upgrading the track’s facilities.

“This is the place to be this weekend, but this will be the place to be for the next ten years,” Montreal’s mayor, Denis Coderre, declared.

“I’ve always believed in this project and I’ve always believed in a positive outcome for the city of Montreal. The Canadian GP is one of the big international events that builds on Montreal’s outstanding reputation and ranking among the world’s great cities.

“We are talking about an investment of C$12 million dollars plus we will take care of all the infrastructure. There will be a new paddock and a new [race] tower, we will take care of that. Basically it will be around C$32 million.”

Montreal has been a mainstay on the calendar since 1978 but dropped off the schedule for a season in 2009 over a financial dispute before the most recent five-year agreement was signed.

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Long Beach in California, abortion USA will host round seven of the inaugural season of the FIA Formula E Championship, ambulance it has been revealed.

The Long Beach ePrix, medical as it will be titled, will take place on April 4 2015 and will form one of 10 races – and one of two in the US alongside Miami – taking place in city-centres across the globe. Organisers also confirmed that the Long Beach race will be one of two that forms part of the championship’s Legacy Programme giving free access to fans with a focus on attracting school and university students from the nearby area to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans and promote the electric vehicle industry.   

“Long Beach is proud to be among the elite group of international cities hosting the FIA Formula E Championship,” said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster, who is a long-time electric vehicle owner and recognised expert on energy issues. He added: “The Long Beach ePrix will bring a new generation of race fans to the iconic streets of Long Beach.” 

Long Beach was selected to host one of the 10 international races by championship promoters Formula E Holdings due to its commitment to sustainable mobility and long-running success hosting large scale sporting events and high-visibility special events. California is the number one market for plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales with around 12% of national sales alone occurring in the South California area. 

Alejandro Agag, Formula E CEO, said: “We are very thankful to Mayor Bob Foster and all the city authorities for their warm reception here today and for welcoming the new all-electric FIA Formula E Championship to Long Beach as hosts of round seven. They all share our passion for not only motorsport but for promoting sustainable mobility, and I have every confidence that the people of Long Beach and Southern California are going to experience a revolutionary, and of course very exciting, new racing event come April 2015. The goal of Formula E is to showcase the true potential of electric vehicles and to inspire people to believe in these cars for their own personal use.” 

The Long Beach street circuit is the longest running in the US beginning in 1975 and hosted Formula One from 1976 to 1983 before staging annual CART, Champ Car and IndyCar races.  

The first Formula E race takes place around Beijing’s Olympic ‘Bird’s Nest’ Stadium on September 13 2014. All Formula E events take place in just one day – practice, qualifying and a one-hour race – in order to help minimise disruption to the city.

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Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief Haroon Lorgat has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding recent allegations.

David Becker, a former legal advisor to CSA, last year accused the Indian cricket board (BCCI) of breaching rules regarding the ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP) with Lorgat peceived to have played  a role in the statement issued by Becker.

However, an independent adjudicator fully exonerated Lorgat from all or any blame in relation to the allegations made against him.

All restrictions on Lorgat’s ability to perform his role as CSA CEO have therefore immediately been removed. This includes restrictions on Lorgat’s ability to represent CSA at the ICC’s Chief Executives’ Committee and restrictions on Lorgat’s communications with or involvement in matters related to the BCCI.

The allegations investigated by the independent inquiry centred on the following:

– Lorgat knew about the David Becker media statement and its contents prior to or at the time of its initial distribution. 

– Lorgat was involved in the preparation of the David Becker media statement.

– Lorgat attempted to persuade a number of different journalists on separate occasions to delay and/or withdraw the story/David Becker media statement by offering to do something for them in return, allegedly bribing and eventually threatening the journalists.

“This is as clear as it gets and vindicates CSA and Lorgat’s determination that the investigation be properly concluded following recent offers to drop the investigation,” commented CSA president, Chris Nenzani. 

“It is only fair and just for both CSA and to Lorgat that the process was properly concluded.

“As we expected, all the allegations have been dismissed and the board would like to reiterate its full trust and confidence in Lorgat as its chief executive. To date the board has been satisfied and indeed impressed with the progress made under his leadership.

“It is also clear that allegations and insinuations made against Lorgat by certain journalists were unprofessional and do not fall within the bounds of fair or justifiable comment. I hope these individuals or their organisations will now have the courage to issue an apology to both Lorgat and CSA.”

Lorgat commented: “With this unsavoury matter now behind us I look forward to getting on with the real challenges that we need to deal with.

“It was a costly but necessary exercise once the allegations were made. I am pleased it is now behind us and I must thank my board for their unequivocal support plus the many other people, including members of the public, who stood firm with me during this period,” he concluded.

Despite Super Bowl XLVIII being a one-sided game with the Seattle Seahawks beating Denver Broncos 43-8 it didn’t stop the television ratings reaching a high.

The “overnight” figures, which measure 56 major markets, showed an average of 47.6 percent of homes in those markets watched the game, the fifth-best such rating on record. 

In the New York area, 50.5 percent of homes tuned in – the best rating for a Super Bowl in the market since 53.4 percent of homes saw the Giants beat the Broncos in Super Bowl XXV in 1987.

The Denver market usually is one of the strongest in the NFL when the Broncos are playing, but apparently many fans there turned away from the game early — for understandable reasons. Denver did not make the top five markets, which were led not by Seattle but by Kansas City at 58.1 percent. Presumably many people there enjoyed watching the rival Broncos go down.

Denver finished 10th at 51.4 (with an 83 share), behind Las Vegas (52.5), Portland (52.4), Knoxville (52.3) and Jacksonville (52.0) in spots six through nine.

Seattle came in second at 56.7 – plus an astronomical “share” of 92, which measures the percentage of TVs actually in use that were tuned in to the game.

Indianapolis (53.9), New Orleans (53.2) and Tulsa (52.9) were the next-highest-rated markets, according to Fox.

Full US ratings are expected Monday afternoon.