Jeff Moorad Bails Out on Takeover of San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres announced that Vice Chairman and CEO Jeff Moorad has withdrawn his application to Major League Baseball for a control transfer, in order to expedite MLB approval of the club’s television broadcasting agreement.

“With Opening Day less than one month away, John Moores and I believe our top priority is to ensure that Padres fans will be able to watch broadcasts of what we believe is an exciting baseball team,” said Moorad. “I remain fully committed to the San Diego Padres and our fans, and am looking forward to the 2012 season.”

But the real reason, according to multiple sources, has more to do with Moorad’s group lacking the votes needed among MLB owners to approve the sale of the team. Moorad and his group controls 49 percent of the team (John Moores has the majority share), and Moorad has been running the Padres as CEO. 

Moorad’s tenure has been marked by way too much front-office turnover (three GMs in four years, with Kevin Towers departing and Jed Hoyer fleeing), and there’s some doubt as to whether the group has the financial resources needed to succeed. The Fox Sports broadcast deal will help allay many of those fears, so the delay may be only temporary, something that Bud Selig hinted at in a press release:

“I have spoken with San Diego Padres Chairman John Moores and Vice Chairman/CEO Jeff Moorad.  They have informed me that Jeff is withdrawing his control transfer application of the Padres at this time in order to focus on completing the club’s local television contract.  I am pleased that John and Jeff are working on ensuring that the club’s games will be televised this season and beyond, and I know that they are acting in the best interests of Baseball, the franchise and the great fans of San Diego.”

Hyundai Sponsor ICC in USD44m Deal

The International Cricket Council (ICC) have signed their final sponsorship deal with Hyundai Motor Company to become the governing bodies first official car partner, in a deal worth US$44m, for the duration of a new five-year agreement.

Under this agreement, ICC officials and players will use Hyundai cars for official transportation for the duration of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. Additionally, Hyundai will be the transportation partner for ICC’s other competitions, such as the Champions Trophy, Women’s World Cup and the World Twenty20, among other exclusive rights.

Arvind Saxena, director, marketing and sales, HMIL, spoke at a press conference yesterday, February 8, stating: “The estimated cost of the partnership between ICC and HMIL is more than Rs 200 crore (two billion) for the next five years. It includes the ICC deal as well as the cost of our media campaign.

“The cost of the media campaign will be varying in future. It keeps changing every year depending on various factors.”

HW Park, CEO HMIL, said at the signing ceremony on behalf of Hyundai: “The ICC Cricket World Cup is one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas and we are proud to be part of this event. Hyundai shares ICC’s deep-rooted passion for cricket and remains committed to supporting the game in the future as well.”

Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the ICC added: ” We are very glad that two Korean companies, LG and Hyundai are now associated with us, which will also help to develop cricket in that country.

“Hyundai has an opportunity to enhance their brand around 105 countries where ICC is deeply involved.”

Gove Completes UK School Sports Cut U-Turn

Michael Gove, herbal Education Secretary, cialis was forced to withdraw his proposal to eliminate the £162m (US$250m) UK school sports funding put in place by the previous government.

Although the u-turn does not mean that the entire funding will stay in place, view Gove promised that £47m ($72.8m) of the total would be salvaged from the partnership.

Gove also stated that a further £65m ($100m) would be released in the academic years which straddle the 2012 Olympics to ensure that there will be at least one dedicated PE teacher in place at every school.

The move was an embarrassing climbdown for the education secretary whose plans forced an intervention by David Cameron, who demanded a rethink after the coalition Government was hit by a public backlash.

Clinton to make final U.S. bid presentation to FIFA

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton will take part in the final presentation of his country’s World Cup bid to FIFA’s executive committee on Dec. 1.

Clinton became honorary chairman of the U.S. bid committee in May and traveled to South Africa, where he attended two U.S. matches and met several executive committee members.

The United States held the tournament in 1994 and hopes to host the 2022 tournament. FIFA votes Dec. 2 on the 2018 and 2022 hosts.

“I’m pleased to stand on behalf of our nation for something as important and meaningful to the American people and citizens throughout the world as the FIFA World Cup,” Clinton said in a statement. “I am committed to this effort because I have seen firsthand the powerful unifying force of the FIFA World Cup – bringing together people of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs.”

Qatar, Australia, Japan and South Korea also are bidding for 2022. England, Russia, Spain-Portugal and Belgium-Holland are competing to host in 2018.

European Tour Expands to China with New Beijing Office

The European Tour has unveiled a new Beijing Office today with the aim of further developing its global brand in China.

It will be led by Simon Leach (Li Sai Wen), who previously helped grow the game of snooker in China through his work with World Snooker’s governing body, World Snooker Limited.

In addition to seeking new opportunities in China, Leach and his team will help manage and oversee the existing European Tour events played in the country, working alongside the China Golf Association and the Multi-Ball Games Administration Centre of the General Administration of Sport.

The European Tour has had a strong presence in China for the past 12 years, with April’s Volvo China Open, at Genzon Golf Club in Shenzhen, the 44th European Tour event to be staged in the country.

Three more tournaments are due to take place on Chinese soil on The 2014 Race to Dubai, with the Hong Kong Open returning to Hong Kong Golf Club from October 16-19, before two out of the four Final Series events – the BMW Masters and WGC-HSBC Champions – are held in Shanghai in consecutive weeks at the end of October and start of November.

As a consultant to The European Tour, Leach was central to the development of partnerships which have subsequently helped establish the BMW Masters in 2012, while last year he also helped launch the Foshan Open, one of two Chinese events on the European Challenge Tour in 2014 alongside the Shankai China Classic. He has now been appointed Director of European Tour International, China, leading the new office which is located at Park View Green (Qiao Fu Fan Cao Di) Beijing’s ground-breaking, iconic, creative and ecologically friendly office and retail premises.

Leach said: “After building a sound, sustainable platform in Greater China for many years, it is now the right time to create a permanent presence on the ground to further develop the already excellent relationships with the China Golf Association, and other various Local Sports and Government Bureaus throughout the country.”

“We are implementing sustainable long term plans with partners to further develop European Tour events in China, and we are focusing our efforts to provide young Chinese players with increased playing opportunities both in Mainland China and overseas through the Challenge Tour platform – the leading feeder tour for rising stars heading for The European Tour.”

“In addition, we will be announcing new and exciting initiatives in the areas of digital and social media, retail and brand development. The China golf market is clearly at the beginning of a huge growth curve, especially with its recent inclusion in the Olympics, and The European Tour is well placed to contribute hugely to this development. It is an exciting time for golf in China, and we look forward to developing many reliable and effective partnerships throughout the region.”

Edmonton Hires TSE Consulting to Assist in 2022 Commonwealth Games Bid

Edmonton in Canada has hired TSE Consulting as lead consultants in its bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Edmonton, denture a premier destination for sports events for over thirty years, malady has been a long-term client of TSE Consulting. The Commonwealth Games bid is part of the implementation of a long term sports event strategy to drive results in meeting various socio-economic objectives of the city.

With vast experience in advising bids, TSE will assist Edmonton 2022 with all aspects of the bid until the election of the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in September 2015. TSE has recently worked with winning hosts such as the City of Lima on their bid for the 2019 Pan American Games as well as Sport Event Denmark in their recent wins to host the 2018 ISAF Sailing 2018 World Championships as well as the IIHF World Championships 2018.

Lars Haue-Pedersen, TSE Managing Director, commented: “We look forward to continuing our work with Edmonton on this exciting project. Edmonton is a city with a strong and clearly defined sports event strategy and to bring the Commonwealth there in 2022 just makes a lot of sense – for Edmonton and the Commonwealth Games movement. We are very excited to be part of this vision and together with the Edmonton bid committee we will develop a strong bid building on Edmonton’s experience in organising world class events.”

The first official announcement from the Edmonton 2022 bid will be made next week in Edmonton on Canada Day – July 1.

Sacramento Approves NBA’s Kings Arena Plans

Sacramento’s city council has approved a financing plan for the Kings NBA franchise, clearing the way for construction on a $477 million downtown arena.

Under the 35-year deal, the city would be responsible for a $223 million subsidy, much of it financed through a parking revenue bond. The city would pay an estimated $21.9 million a year in debt service that would be paid through lease payments from the Kings and a projected increase in parking revenue.
In return, the Kings will contribute $254 million to construct the arena and develop surrounding land with a hotel, office tower and shopping.

“We had our backs against the wall, but we defied the odds. We made a comeback for the ages, and in doing so, I feel like we unleashed the very best that Sacramento has to offer,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson, a former three-time NBA All-Star who maintains strong connections to the league.

The NBA had told the city that it must open the arena by 2017 or risk losing the Kings.

MotoGP’s French Grand Prix Renewed Until 2021

Following Marc Marquez latest MotoGP win, Claude Michy the promoter of the Grand Prix de France and FIM MotoGP World Championship rights holder Dorna Sports SL have announced they will extend their collaboration for a further five years, from 2017 to 2021. 

The French Grand Prix at Le Mans has one of the longest traditions of Grand Prix Racing in the FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar – Le Mans was first used for a Grand Prix event in 1969, when the 500 race was won by Giacomo Agostini and the circuit has been used for the MotoGP event for the last 14 years in succession, starting in 2000.

Claude and Philibert Michy stated: “The French Grand Prix is a key international event on the French sporting calendar and our close collaboration with Dorna Sports is instrumental in making it a success, so we’re very happy to ensure the future of the French round of the World Championship.”

“We have a great relationship with Claude Michy and PHA and the French Grand Prix has been steadily building on its success at such a legendary circuit as Le Mans,” said Dorna Sports SL CEO Carmelo Ezpeleta. “We are pleased to continue to work with Claude until 2021 and maintain a key GP on the calendar,” he added.

{jcomments on}

Spanish Grand Prix Organisers Look for Name Change

The Spanish Grand Prix could be renamed, organisers of the annual Formula 1 race have revealed.

Last year, the Barcelona venue – known since it was built in 1991 as the Circuit de Catalunya – underwent a name tweak. It is now officially called the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya.

Now, circuit boss Salvador Servia has told Catalunya Radio that he would like the annual F1 race to be called the Barcelona Grand Prix.

“Evidently, the ‘Barcelona’ brand outsells the ‘Spain’ brand,” he claimed.

“When we say that we would call it Gran Premio de Barcelona, it is because we are selling worldwide and the Barcelona brand helps us a lot,” said Servia.

The existing Spanish grand prix contract runs until 2016.

{jcomments on}

Hampshire Cricket to Form Unique Partnership with London Irish

Hampshire Cricket & London Irish Rugby Club have announced today a unique collaboration.

The partnership will be equally beneficial for both clubs as under the terms of the agreement both clubs will offer deals for both sets of supporters through offers on tickets and merchandise. 

The deal also saw four Hampshire players, buy David Balcombe, medic Matt Coles, Adam Wheater and Lewis McManus get experience and training with the London Irish Rugby Club as they were put through their paces and made to learn a series of Rugby movements and tactics. 

London Irish Commercial Director, Jim O’Toole commented: “We are always looking to engage with people from different sports and show them what we have to offer both on and off the field. The fact that our supporters will be able to watch some top quality cricket during the summer months will be greatly appreciated. We look forward to working with Hampshire CCC.” 

Hampshire Cricket Commercial Director, Stuart Robertson said: “It’s an exciting partnership especially as both clubs draw large numbers of our fans and spectators from the same geographic areas. Cricket and Rugby Union are very much complementary sports and this is a partnership that has endless possibilities.  We are looking forward to working with London Irish for many years to come.”