Serie A giants AS Roma have agreed a partnership with sports agency CAA Sports, medicine in a bid to maximise revenue for stadium naming rights.

The Giallorossi announced in March that they would spend €300m on building a new ground to replace Stadio Olimpico.

The brand-new stadium will have a capacity of 52,000 fans and will be ready in time for 2016/17.

The club have today confirmed that the naming rights for the ground will be handled by the American agency.

“About two months ago, we took a major step forward by announcing our long-awaited plans to build a new stadium and a world class entertainment destination,” said AS Roma President James Pallotta. “Today’s announcement of our partnership with CAA Sports, the best in the business, is a significant step in bringing the plans and our vision to life.

“As we start conversations with potential corporate partners, our primary selling point is more than just aligning your company or brands with one of world’s most historic football clubs in AS Roma.  It’s about being one of the first stakeholders in a sports and entertainment complex unlike any in the world.  And it’s about having a meaningful presence in one of the greatest cities in the world.  CAA Sports will be central to telling our story and building our business to audiences and prospects worldwide.”

“We have enjoyed a longstanding friendship with Jim Pallotta and his management team, and are thrilled to partner on this incredible opportunity,” said Mike Levine, Co-Head, CAA Sports.  “The magnificence and incredible size and scope of this project with the new stadium, fan village, and retail district, as well as the on-field success and off-field popularity of AS Roma, makes this one of the most exciting projects we have ever seen.”

AS Roma have also confirmed today the opening of an official office in New York, giving the club a permanent home in the U.S. where it can grow its commercial operations.

Liverpool have submitted a formal planning application to extend the capacity of Anfield.

The £100m project would see a third tier added to the Main Stand, raising the ground’s capacity to about 54,000.

A second phase could later redevelop the Anfield Road Stand, further increasing the capacity to 58,800.

If permission is granted, work on the Main Stand could be completed in time for the 2016/17 season.

The application follows a large public consultation and will be considered by the Liverpool City Council’s planning committee later this year.

The submission of the application follows a major public consultation in which the overwhelming majority of local residents, businesses and fans backed the proposals.

The document submitted to Liverpool City Council today applies for detailed planning consent to expand the Main Stand and outline consent for the expansion of its Anfield Road stand.

The application is expected to be considered by the city’s planning committee later this year.

Incorporating the iconic club crest into the proposed Main Stand’s exterior elevation, the scheme would also include a two-storey podium and a carefully designed cloister which would become the new home for the Hillsborough Memorial.

The Main Stand would open onto a wide public space which has been designed to link the stadium and park while creating an area which is relevant and usable to the local community, particularly on non-matchdays.

As part of its proposed stadium expansion plans, the club has also appointed Tom Doyle, an experienced project director who worked on the London 2012 Olympic programme and more recently the SSE Hydro Arena in Glasgow, to manage the redevelopment should consent be granted.

Chief Executive Ian Ayre said: “When we set out on the journey to explore the feasibility of expanding the stadium, we said the process would be determined by certainty.

“Certainty that we have the support from local residents and businesses for our proposed plans, that we can acquire the land required and that we can navigate the planning landscape.

“We have worked closely with the community, local residents, Liverpool City Council and Your Housing Group and we are delighted to be able to bring forward a planning application at this stage.”

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “The proposed redevelopment of the stadium is a hugely important part of our vision for Anfield – to create a thriving community in which people want to live, work and visit.”

With reports Jon Bon Jovi is interested in buying National Football League (NFL) franchise Buffalo Bills, CEO Russ Brandon said Wednesday the team is not for sale.

“No,” Brandon told WGR 550 in Buffalo. “Mr. [Ralph] Wilson is the owner of this franchise. We expect him to be the owner for many, many years.”

On Monday, Bon Jovi publicist Ken Sunshine told The Associated Press, “the Bills are not for sale, and [Bon Jovi] has too much respect for Mr. Wilson to engage in any discussions of buying the team. … It’s preposterous to say he’s had any discussions with the Bills and Erie County.”

Brandon further downplayed the report Wednesday.

“I’ll tell you this: Obviously it was a great way to start off my bye [week] Sunday, when I heard the news of this and listening to all of the nonsense relative to it,” Brandon told WGR 550. “If we had to discuss and speak to every single individual that would have interest in buying an NFL franchise, that’s all you would talk about on your show.

“But obviously Mr. Wilson and his peers were part of building one of the most successful sports leagues in the world over 50 years ago, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that there is a great deal of interest in succeeding him when that time comes, and we don’t expect that time to come any time soon.”

Brandon noted that the Bills signed a 10-year lease last year to stay at Ralph Wilson Stadium and are in the midst of a renovation project to update the 40-year-old venue. However, Brandon stressed the need to “keep [the] team viable” in one of the NFL’s smallest markets.

“We have to work hard,” he said. “We keep our ticket prices low. We have a lot of volume in this building. That’s part of the process in moving a game to Toronto and moving our training camp to Rochester. We have to be a regional engine to be viable moving forward. That’s the hand we’re dealt.”

To purchase the Bills or any other team, Bon Jovi would first have to clear hurdles at the league level.

“Anyone that is interested in buying an NFL franchise goes through the vetting process with the league,” Brandon said. “There’s a lot of interest. I know the Bon Jovi thing piqued a lot of interest. But if next week a hedge fund broker from New York City wants to buy an NFL franchise, is that a big story as well? We’re going to just keep chasing ghosts if every time someone wants to buy an NFL franchise, we get brought up and it’s a part of this discussion.”

UCI, cycling’s governing body, has ended their independent commission set up to investigate the Lance Armstrong doping scandal in favour of a truth and reconciliation commission.

UCI said they have received no cooperation from World Anti-Doping Agency and US Anti-Doping Agency to compile the report so had to scrap it due to a lack of credibility.

The commission was established to look into the allegations made against the UCI by USADA in their ‘reasoned decision’ report into Armstrong’s past.

USADA’s report eventually led to the Texan being stripped of his seven Tour de France victories and he admitted earlier this month in an interview with Oprah Winfrey that he had cheated for much of his career.

UCI president Pat McQuaid said: “We have listened carefully to the views of WADA, USADA and cycling stakeholders and have decided that a truth and reconciliation process is the best way to examine the culture of doping in cycling in the past and to clear the air so that cycling can move forward.

“Over the weekend I spoke to John Fahey, president of WADA. He confirmed WADA’s willingness to help the UCI establish a truth and reconciliation commission (TRC), as well as saying that WADA had no confidence in the existing independent commission process.

“We will now focus our efforts on establishing a TRC, with which we expect WADA to be fully engaged, to look at doping in professional cycling, as well as the allegations contained in the USADA reasoned decision.

“The work that has so far been undertaken by the Independent Commission will be shared with the TRC. This is too important for rushed discussions, or hasty decisions.”

“I hope the lessons learned from the truth and reconciliation process will help in particular to educate young riders and to help eradicate doping in its entirety from cycling.”

The three-member commision was to consist of chairman Philip Otton, a former judge in England’s Court of Appeal, British Paralympic champion Tanni Grey-Thompson and Australian lawyer Malcolm Holmes.

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