Mutual life and pensions company Royal London has selected Fuse Sport + Entertainment, asthma part of the Omnicom Media Group, buy to handle the activation of Royal London’s one-day cricket sponsorship.

The agency has been working with Royal London to plan the official launch of the ECB sponsorship next week. Fuse Sport + Entertainment will support Royal London in leveraging the sponsorship, including running in-ground activation, handling guest hospitality programmes and managing all branded assets.

The four year agreement with the ECB starting this season, is Royal London’s first ever sponsorship of this type. The deal sees Royal London become the headline sponsor of one-day cricket at international, county and recreational levels. Royal London this week made the first move in its aim to become a household name, by launching the brand’s first TV campaign in over a decade. Its new advertising campaign, ‘We’re so yesterday’, celebrates the fact that Royal London has stood by its customers with the values the company was originally founded on back in 1861.

Commenting on the appointment, Kat Thomas from Fuse Sport + Entertainment said, “We are delighted to be working with Royal London at such an exciting and pivotal time for the brand. Royal London’s sponsorship of one-day cricket at all levels, from One-Day Internationals to grassroots is part of a long term strategy and we are excited to be involved in bringing a new name to cricket.”

Clare Salmon, Group Brand Director, Royal London commented: “As a very British company, the quirky, fundamentally British game of cricket is a fantastic fit for Royal London. Fuse Sport + Entertainment impressed us with their creative thinking, can do attitude and full-service offering. We look forward to working together over the coming months to bring our unique new brand, and our values to life, through our love of this unique sport.”

Ryder Cup Europe has awarded a new contract to the Arena Group to supply a comprehensive range of temporary event infrastructure at the core of The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles. 

Arena Group, who won a competitive tender process, will provide triple and double decker hospitality structures overlooking the greens of the 18th and 12th holes, including interior fit out and furniture as well as the state-of-the-art media centre, grandstand seating and on-course event structures across the golf course. 

Grahame Muir, CEO of Arena Group, UK & Europe, said: “We are proud to have been selected to be part of the team which will create an unforgettable Ryder Cup in Scotland. 

“The investment we made into developing clearview and Arcus Horizon products last year at the Olympics have allowed us to improve the range and quality of the design-led overlay we have been able to offer The Ryder Cup team for Gleneagles.” 

Arena Seating is finalising plans to install approximately 15,000 seats around the course, including a 1,500 (minimum) capacity horseshoe shaped clearview grandstand around the first tee, as well as a 2,000-plus capacity grandstand at the 18th green. Both grandstands have been designed to enhance the incredible atmosphere generated at the biennial match between Europe and the USA. 

Arena Structures will install the Group’s flagship curved-roof Arcus structure for the 15m x 100m triple deck

Aviemore Pavilion, set to be the PGA Centenary Course’s premier facility overlooking the 18th green.  This exclusive hospitality structure will host Ryder Cup Partners’, with bespoke interiors developed in consultation with Rolex, BMW, Diageo, EY, Standard Life Investments to ensure luxurious environments with unrivalled views for all Ryder Cup Partners and their guests. 

Edward Kitson, Europe’s Ryder Cup Match Director, said: “We are delighted to appoint Arena Structures and Seating to deliver the tentage and grandstands at The 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.  We have a very strong partnership with Arena having worked with them at numerous European Tour events and at every home Ryder Cup match since 1989, and their professionalism and exemplary standards made them an automatic choice for Ryder Cup Europe.”

Euroleague Basketball have announced that fan interest in the competition has continued to grow during the 2013-14 regular season according to the latest figures.

Data collected from the 10 regular season games points to a rise in attendance at games as well as an increase in visits to the competition’s official website, asthma Euroleague.net, compared to last season. 

The 2013-14 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Regular Season saw a more than 5% attendance increase compared to the same period from the previous season. The regular season featured a total of 120 games spaced over 10 weeks.  

Of the 17 teams that competed in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in each of the past two seasons, 10 reported attendance increases, while an additional team, Brose Baskets Bamberg, reported no change since it has sold out every home game in that period. EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, which nearly doubled its attendance in the past season, as well as Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul (29.9% increase) and reigning champion Olympiacos Piraeus (26.9% increase), all of whom made the most of the Euroleague Basketball Ticketing Programme, launched nearly two years ago in collaboration with consulting firm G2 Strategic and its CEO Marshall Glickman, which specializes in sports business solutions.

In a statement Euroleague said: “When fans’ favorite teams are on the road, we can measure their increased interest by the droves visits to Euroleague.net and its official partners, Sport24.GR in Greece and Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy. Euroleague.net alone brought in nearly 100,000 more unique visitors than over the same period last season, while its two partner sites debuted with some 3.35 million unique visitors!”  

“The response from Greek fans to the launching of Sport24.GR’s  Greek-language version of Euroleague.net has been positive, as are the early returns from the Italian-language version supported by Gazzetta dello Sport, which only started prior to the eighth round of the regular season.” 

 

With his position under threat, Formula 1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he would prefer Red Bull team boss Christian Horner to replace him when he eventually calls it a day.

Ecclestone, who has established Formula One into a global money spinner over the past four decades, has always dismissed talk of retirement but is now 83 and is facing legal challenges relating to a 2005 business deal.

“Christian would be ideal,” Ecclestone told reporters at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo in comments published in British newspapers on Friday.

“I would be happy to hold his hand. We could have a transitional period. It needs someone who knows the sport.”

In the High Court earlier this week CVC co-chairman Donald Mackenzie said that Ecclestone would be a hard act to follow and that CVC did not have anyone specific in mind to succeed him.

Referring to the need to line up a potential replacement, given Ecclestone’s age, Mackenzie said, “It won’t be easy. And we’re still thinking of one, trying to find one.”

Mackenzie also said that CVC would sack Ecclestone if he was found guilty of wrongdoing in his dealings with a jailed German banker.

London’s Olympic Stadium, which was announced as Wet Ham United’s home stadium, will be the new national base for British athletes after a new deal was agreed.

The contract, signed by stadium managers E20 Stadium LLP and UK Athletics, will see the Olympic stadium become the new national centre for athletics. UKA will have priority use of the Stadium from the last Friday in June to the end of July each year under a 50 year agreement, starting from 2016 when the stadium will be fully operational following its legacy transformation.

There will also be a permanent community track with dedicated facilities adjacent to the main Stadium available for use by the local community and clubs as part of the ongoing commitment to a lasting athletics legacy in east London.

Britain will hold London Diamond League meetings at the stadium during the summer and a new track will be built on the site which will offer all-year facilities to athletes and local clubs.

Diamond League meetings have previously been staged at the smaller and older Crystal Palace venue in south London.

“Today’s agreement is a great result for athletics,” said UK Athletics Chief Executive Niels de Vos.

“We’ve seen how there is a huge public appetite for seeing athletics on the biggest stage.”

London Legacy Development Corporation Chief Executive Dennis Hone said: “Tens of thousands will enjoy watching top class athletics each year here in east London.

“But crucially the deal means that the stars of tomorrow can train and compete in this iconic Stadium and help inspire the youngsters of the East End of London to reach their full potential.”

The stadium will host the 2017 World Athletics Championships and IPC Athletics World Championships as well as some games in the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup.

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