New Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise Orlando City SC and the City of Orlando have announced the selection of Populous as the lead architect and Barton Malow as the construction manager for the new, downtown stadium.

Orlando City concurrently announced the selection of ICON Venue Group to serve as the Club’s owner’s representative overseeing the project.

The stadium is expected to break ground in 2014 and is funded through a 50/50 public-private partnership, with $40 million pledged by the Club and the remainder via public contributions secured to date from Orange County, City of Orlando, Seminole County and Osceola County. Orlando City SC has agreed to cover any cost overruns associated with the project. The stadium will be operated by the City of Orlando.

“We are truly excited to have Populous, Barton Malow & ICON Venue Group on board for the design and construction for the new, downtown stadium in Orlando,” said Orlando City President Phil Rawlins. “They each have proven track records and I look forward to working with them as we continue our progress toward our inaugural MLS season in 2015.”

The stadium will be located on Church Street, in a vibrant and expanding section of Orlando’s sports and entertainment district adjacent to the Parramore neighborhood. The new stadium will be accessible by both car and public transportation. The stadium’s location is adjacent to Amway Center, also designed by Populous, and will allow for synergy between the two facilities and increased activity in the surrounding community. Prior to moving into the new stadium, Orlando City will play matches on a temporary basis at the newly renovated Citrus Bowl stadium.

“This is an incredible opportunity for the City of Orlando to engrain soccer into the fabric of the city with the design of a new, soccer-specific urban stadium,” said Bruce Miller, Principal at Populous and leader of the design team. “Our design team is excited to work to capture the spirit of both the city and the fan base in our design to create a stadium that will be vibrant, intimate and iconic. It’s an opportunity for the team to redefine the soccer experience for an entire region.”

Populous is responsible for the design of the two newest MLS Stadiums – Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. and BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Tex. – as well as the design of iconic sports and entertainment destinations that include Yankee Stadium, Wembley Stadium, O2 Arena, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Amway Center and main stadiums for the London, Sochi and Sydney Olympic Games.

With the Masters underway, Augusta National chairman Billy Payne has suggested he will vote in favour of women finally being allowed to join the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.

R&A chief executive Peter Dawson believes the club has “strong support” for the vote to admit women members, 260 years after it was founded.

And it looks certain there will be at least one ‘yes’ vote on September 18, assuming Payne travels to St Andrews to cast it in person as no postal or proxy votes will be accepted from the R&A’s 2,400 members.

Augusta National, venue for the Masters, admitted women members for the first time in October 2012, with former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore becoming the first women in green jackets.

“As I’ve said before, we readily and joyously welcomed our lady members when that happened a couple years ago and it remains a very good decision on our part,” said Payne.

“We are so delighted, and I know I speak for everyone, that they are members. I’m proud to be a member of the R&A and I bet you can guess how I’m going to vote.”

AMA Pro Racing have announced today that the premier AMA Pro SuperBike class will return to the DAYTONA 200 in 2015.

The 2015 edition of AMA Pro Road Racing’s kickoff event will be a 69-lap race contested on Daytona International Speedway’s 2.91-mile short course.

“Getting the SuperBikes back in the DAYTONA 200 has been a fan request for years and we’re thrilled to be making this announcement,” said Michael Gentry, Chief Operating Officer of AMA Pro Racing. “The DAYTONA 200 is America’s premier motorcycle race, and our goal is to once again feature the biggest names in motorcycle road racing in the event.” 

The DAYTONA 200 is America’s longest-running endurance motorcycle race, tracing its history to 1937 when the inaugural race was run on the sands of Daytona Beach. 

The AMA Pro SuperBike class competed in the DAYTONA 200 from 1985 until 2004. Since 2005, the smaller-displacement motorcycles of Formula Xtreme and GoPro Daytona SportBike have campaigned the prestigious event. With the 2015 return of the AMA Pro SuperBikes for the 74th running of the DAYTONA 200, the top teams and riders will again headline the historic event. 

“The DAYTONA 200 boasts a long and prestigious history since it first ran on the sands of Daytona Beach over seven decades ago, crowning some of the true legends of motorcycle racing in that time,” said Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood. “Our fans have been patiently waiting for the premier class to return to the weekend’s headline event. We are thankful to AMA Pro Racing, as well as Dunlop and the OEM’s for working together to help make this move a reality for 2015.” 

The adjustments to the AMA Pro SuperBike rules package, planned as part of the recently-announced AMA Pro Road Racing class restructuring, are a key component to getting the SuperBikes back in the DAYTONA 200 for the 2015 running. Another important element is the commitment of AMA Pro Road Racing’s spec tire partner Dunlop to the continual development of tires which are specifically suited to the special demands of Daytona International Speedway. 

“Dunlop is excited about the prospect of having SuperBikes back in the DAYTONA 200,” said Mike Buckley, Vice President of Dunlop. “Everyone on the Dunlop design and service team are enthusiasts first and foremost so the entire team is looking forward to supporting this endeavor.” 

The 2014 AMA Pro Road Racing season will kick off once again at Daytona International Speedway. The event is scheduled for March 13 – 15, 2014 and will have the same three-day format featured in recent years, highlighted by the 73rd running of the DAYTONA 200 on Saturday afternoon.

EventScotland, order the City of Edinburgh Council and NOVA International have announced a new deal to secure the Great Run International Cross Country for Scotland until 2018.

This year saw the 25th edition of the event in the UK with Garrett Heath from the USA taking the men’s 4k title, medicine while GB runner Gemma Steel took the women’s 6K race. Alongside the elite races, the event also includes the Great Winter Run 5k, which is attracts over 2500 amateur runners each year.

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland said: “Scotland is the perfect stage for events and the Great Run International Cross Country is an annual highlight on our sporting calendar. Attracting some of the biggest names in athletics, we are proud to host this world-class meet in Edinburgh.

“Taking place in Holyrood Park, in the shadow of Arthur’s Seat, the meet is a wonderful advert for our capital city, and it is credit to our credentials as a major event destination that we have secured a new deal for the Cross Country through to 2018.”

Cllr Steve Cardownie, Festivals & Events Champion for the City of Edinburgh Council, said: “I am delighted that, with the Council’s support, the Nova event can continue until at least 2018.

“The Great Edinburgh Cross Country race, staged in Holyrood Park in January, is of particular significance. Attracting some of the finest endurance runners in the world, it is worth around £1m to the local economy and, thanks to live coverage on the BBC, acts as a fantastic advert for the city.”

Nicky Homes, commercial director at Nova International added: “We’re delighted that the event will continue to be staged in Edinburgh, our aim for this event has always been to create a world-class festival of cross country running, and the support from our partners EventScotland and the City of Edinburgh council is invaluable in helping us achieve that. 

“The growing number of participants in the mass participation event and increase in enthusiastic spectators, as well as the consistent quality of elite athletes from around the world, show the event is going from strength to strength.”

Li Na’s popularity has been boosted significantly by her performance in the Australian Open.

According to CCTV-5 director Jiang Heping, Li’s final with Victoria Azarenka drew the channel’s largest audience since the London Olympics.

The match reached 1.52 on the TV viewing rate, while the rating share reached 7.57, with a total audience of 18 million.

The average rating share was 7.6 during the London Olympics.

Li drew a viewing rate record of 2.57, the channel’s highest for a single event, for the 2011 French Open final, when she became the first Chinese player to claim a Grand Slam. The match was also televised on CCTV’s news channel and golf and tennis channel, with a total audience of 116 million.{jcomments on}

UCI, cycling’s governing body, has revealed it has inked an initial agreement with private investors to begin a new professional cycling league.

It said it is close to announcing a deal, which has the potential to reshape the cycling calendar in under three years’ time.

Team Omega Pharma-QuickStep owner Zdenek Bakala and his Dutch business partner, Bessel Kok held a press conference on Friday to explain their plan. They said they gathered initial investors to create something similar to football’s Champions League: the top teams competing in the top races. Bakala said that he is willing to invest €10-20m ($12.7m-$25.4m) of his own money.

The UCI confirmed the next day it has been discussing plans with Czech Republic’s wealthy businessman since late 2011. It said in a press release: “These discussions have included their potential financial investment in a new joint venture company with the UCI and other cycling stakeholders that would promote and organise elements of this new calendar.”

President Pat McQuaid explained, “In Zdenek Bakala and Bessel Kok we have cycling fans who have already done much for the sport but who want to invest further. That demonstrates the confidence they have in cycling and we are keen to partner with them and others. We look forward to making a formal announcement on this as soon as possible next year.”

Bakala, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, has joined with eight to nine teams, including Omega Pharma, BMC Racing, Garmin-Sharp and Cannondale. Besides McQuaid, he has won over the UCI’s former president Hein Verbruggen and former ProTour manager Alain Rumpf. The UCI confirmed it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bakala and Kok and is entering into “extensive dialogue with the teams and race organisers.”

Omega Pharma features classics champion Tom Boonen and as of January, Mark Cavendish.

According to Het Nieuwsblad, Bakala said: “Financially, the teams are unstable. It’s not normal that in November some teams don’t know where they stand for the next season. Teams [are fighting for] TV money. There must have stable income streams for the teams, allowing for long-term planning. The current complex WorldTour ranking system also needs reform. Therefore, we must make a Champions League.”

The new league would feature the best 18 teams, similar to the ones in the WorldTour now. They would compete in about 20 races a year, including the Grand Tours, classics and historical races. Bakala and the investors would ramp up the prize money and allow teams a share of the TV revenues. The UCI would continue governing and provide an understandable ranking system. Bakala, however, wants it to hand-over its anti-doping activities to a third party.