IMG College, the global sports and media business’ collegiate licensing arm, has agreed a deal with American clothier chain Brooks Brothers to sell the official sporting merchandise of 15 different schools. Under the agreement, sporting teams from top universities such as Harvard, Princeton and Cornell will have their apparel become available on the high street for the first time.

The deal sees Brooks Brothers enter the lucrative market of college sports which is estimated to have over 172 million followers. IMG figures suggest that 20 per cent of that audience earn an annual salary of over US$100,000, and that college merchandise has generated a reported US$4.3bn in sales during the past year, providing a potentially lucrative stream of revenue for Brooks Brothers.

Karl Haller, vice president of strategy and business development for Brooks Brothers said: “The key for us is re-establishing our connection with what we call the college community — students, faculty and alumni. We have a pretty well-educated customer and there’s a built-in opportunity with alumni who are already our customer base.”

Scott Bouyack, senior vice president for brand and business development at IMG College, added: “As stewards of the college brand, we long looked at Brooks Brothers as an ideal partner in terms of a retail outlet that targets a key group of alumni and a demo that fits with the college market.”

The New York Mets fell from third to fifth in Forbes magazine’s list of Major League Baseball (MLB) team values, while the New York Yankees remained the sport’s richest team.

The Mets are worth 13 per cent less than this time last year, at US$747m, while the Yankees’ value rose 6 per cent to $1.7bn, almost doubling that of the Boston Red Sox, who at $912m are the second richest baseball team.

The Yankees trail only the National Football League’s (NFL) Dallas Cowboys as the most valuable team in U.S. sports, which Forbes valued at $1.805bn last August.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are third in value at $800m after a 10 per cent increase from last year, followed by the Chicago Cubs $773m, and the Mets.

According to Forbes, the average team is now worth an all-time high $523m, a 7 percent increase from last year as new ballparks and regional sports networks boosted revenue 4 per cent to $6.1bn.

The Philadelphia Phillies’ value rose 13 per cent to $609 million, making them the sixth most valuable team, while World Series champion San Francisco Giants were seventh at $563m, a 16 per cent increase.

Texas Rangers, who in 2010 reached the World Series for the first time in team history, were eighth at $561m after a 25 per cent increase in value, the highest among the top 10 teams on the list.

Completing the top ten were the Los Angeles Angels, worth $554m and the Chicago White Sox.

ESPN Star Sports, the official broadcaster for the upcomign ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, has roped in big bang sponsors for the cricket’s marquee event, according to sportzpower.com, India’s leading sports business portal.

Sony, Pepsi, Maruti Suzuki, Nokia and Philips are some of the sponsors who have come on-board as the broadcast sponsors.

Sources say that ESS is looking at 10 sponsors with three co-presenting and seven associate sponsors.

The broadcaster has also launched the marketing campaign for the event with “One Billion Hearts. One Wish” being the theme of the campaign.

When contacted an ESS spokesperson remained tight lipped about the developments.

Souce: sportzpower.com

An umbrella group of German conservation organisations has withdrawn from a commission evaluating the Munich 2018 Winter Olympic Games bid, saying the plans are environmentally irresponsible.

The German nature conservation ring (DNR) represents 96 environmental groups and has claimed that the bid’s plans to host part of the Games in nearby Garmish-Partenkirchen would damage the environment.

DNR general secretary Helmut Roescheisen said: “We consider, after careful examination of the bid files and two long talks with leading bid representatives, that the hosting of the Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with its narrow valleys and its ecologically important areas is irresponsible.

“There is just far too much infrastructure work involved, what with the athletes village, the media village, even the expansion of the skiing slopes, that we just cannot be part of this commission and are dropping out of it.”

Head of the Munich 2018 supervisory board, Michael Vesper, has rejected DNR’s claims, saying: “The vision for an environmentally friendly Games has in no way failed. Quite the opposite.

“This is the the most ambitious environmental concept for an Olympic bid in decades. We will continue working to convince the critics.”

Munich is up against PyeongChang (South Korea) and Annecy (France) to host the 2018 Games. A decision will be made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) next July.

Greensboro, ambulance N.C., allergy will host the 2015 USA Gymnastics Championships, which showcases more than 1,600 of the country’s best gymnasts in acrobatic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, and trampoline and tumbling. 

Scheduled for June 24-28, the five-day competition, which includes both Junior Olympic and elite levels, will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex. This will be the second major gymnastics event to come to Greensboro, which played host to the AT&T American Cup, the premier international event held in the United States, and the Nastia Liukin Cup earlier this year.

“The facilities at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex make Greensboro the perfect East Coast location for this event,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics.  “The USA Gymnastics Championships has something for everyone, from the beauty of rhythmic gymnastics to the amazing feats of strength and balance in acrobatic gymnastics to the highflying excitement of the trampoline and tumbling events, all under one roof.  We knew Greensboro would be a great setting for this event based on the excellent job they did with the 2014 AT&T American Cup.”

The local hosts for the event are the Greensboro Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Tournament Hosts of Greensboro, Greensboro Sports Commission and Sports & Properties, Inc.

“We are thrilled to be selected to host one of USA Gymnastics’ premier events for the second consecutive year,” said Greensboro Coliseum Complex Managing Director Matt Brown. “The success we had in hosting the 2014 AT&T American Cup, recording its highest attendance total in a non-Olympic year since 2000, as well as the all-time attendance record for the Nastia Liukin Cup, demonstrates that Greensboro is an outstanding market for elite gymnastics events. We are excited to build on those successes with the 2015 USA Gymnastics Championships.”

“Landing the USA Gymnastics Championships is a significant accomplishment for Greensboro, and this is a big event with more than 1,600 athletes expected to compete,” said Hill Carrow, CEO of Sports & Properties, Inc.

“We look forward to welcoming gymnastics fans from around the country to Greensboro,” said Greensboro Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Henri Fourrier. “Our local tourism industry is eager to demonstrate our special brand of ‘southern hospitality’ to all the visitors coming to this exciting event.”

La Liga club Atletico Madrid has announced CenterplateISG, a joint-venture partnership between global leaders Centerplate and International Stadia Group (ISG), will design and manage all food service, premium ticket sales and marketing at their new stadium, currently under construction and scheduled to open in 2016. 

For CenterplateISG this is the first contract in the Spanish market, and will provide unparalleled food and beverage hospitality services to Atletico Madrid fans and proven solutions to premium ticket sales and marketing. The agreement is initially for 20 years.

CenterplateISG will conduct customized market and fan research that will enable Atletico de Madridto create the ideal mix of hospitality experiences tailored to appeal to a wide variety of fan preferences throughout the stadium. The outputs of that work will include:

-Dedicated fan hospitality areas inside and outside the stadium
-Integrated infrastructure and interior design
-Customer relationship management programs
-Customized menu development

“We at ISG have seen many stadium projects around the globe and we are extremely proud of the agreement now established between Atletico de Madrid and CenterplateISG. With all of the key ingredients already in place, and construction under way, ISG is confident that the new stadium will be a huge success for Atletico’s fans and become a “must visit” venue for sporting fans and tourists alike. ISG has been working with Atletico Madrid since 2011 to ensure the new stadium has a range of hospitality experiences that truly matches the unique nature of the local market and the fans of Atletico,” says Andrew Hampel, CEO for ISG.

“Atletico de Madrid can rightly claim some of the best football fans in the world, and we are thrilled to design and manage a world-class fan experience for everyone who sets foot inside their new stadium,” said DesHague, CEO of Centerplate. “We anticipate huge synergies in our joint venture with ISG; this is the first time that we have seen complete alignment of interests between the Club, the ticket sales strategy and the delivery of the fan experience – we believe that this will prove to be the way forward for all sports and entertainment venues.”

“As we embark on a new era for Atletico Madrid and our supporters, we searched around the world for the best partners for our new stadium, and we can say with confidence that when it comes to hospitality, fan experience, research and stadium design, we are bringing our fans the very best,” added Miguel Angel Gil Marin, CEO of Atletico Madrid.