Sepang Signs New Malaysian MotoGP Deal Until 2016

MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports has announced Sepang International Circuit will be hosting the MotoGP World Championship for a further three years, view ensuring the race will be held in Malaysia until at least 2016.

Sepang has been on the MotoGP calendar since 1999, generic will play host to the premier-class, along with Moto2 and Moto3, until 2016 for certain.

Last year the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix attracted record spectators of 125,000 over the three days with Dorna, the exclusive rights holder acknowledging the event as The Best Grand Prix of the Year. This year, with extensive regional promotions and the unprecedented representation of six Malaysian riders, this premiere motorcycle event is expected to attract an even larger crowd with 95% of the available 80,000 tickets for Sunday’s race day already sold.

Dorna CEO, Carmelo Ezpeleta, commented: “To sign this agreement for the next three years is fantastic news for all parties involved in MotoGP. The Sepang International Circuit is a great facility that is a favourite for many reasons, and is invaluable on the race calendar. It is one of the cornerstones of the Championship’s push into new markets, and continues to draw ever-greater number of fans. I hope for many more years of exciting racing to come.”

SIC Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Razlan Razali, was clearly delighted with the development: “The announcement of the extension could not have arrived at a better time, as SIC has been in the midst of much progress of late with the launch of the South East Asian Motorcycle Business Forum as well as the Shell Advance ASIA Talent Cup.”

Liang Wen-chong Becomes Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship Ambassador

Liang Wen-chong, sickness China’s most successful professional golfer, pills has been confirmed as the official Ambassador for the upcoming Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC), medic which will be held at Nanshan International Golf Club 24 – 27 October 2013.  As the event’s Ambassador, Liang will help promote the event across the region.

Inaugurated in 2009 as an annual event to help develop golf in the region, the AAC has rapidly become the preeminent amateur golf competition throughout all of Asia-Pacific, attracting the top amateurs from the 35 member organizations of the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC). Developed jointly by the APGC, the Masters Tournament and The R&A, the AAC’s winner receives an invitation to the Masters and, along with the runner(s)-up, advances to International Final Qualifying for The Open Championship.

Since turning pro in 1999, Liang has collected 18 career victories and in 2008 made his major championship debut when he played the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club.  

“I am honoured to be the Ambassador for the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship this year,” said the Zhongshan native.  “I hope I am able to inspire the competitors to continue improving and reach their full potential in golf. This event provides a great platform for the best amateur golfers in the region as they continue to develop their skills.  No such pathway existed until a few years ago, and I hope they are able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to further their golfing career.”

Liang, who is also a Working For Golf Ambassador for The R&A, added, “This is the fifth year of the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship and competitors who have performed at the tournament are beginning to make a mark on the world stage. Hideki Matsuyama won the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship twice.  In his rookie season on the Japan Golf Tour he has already won twice this season and is in the world’s top 50. This is a tremendous achievement, and I am sure the world-class competition at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship played a part in his early professional success.”

Phoenix Suns Revamp Brand with New Logo

The Phoenix Suns have revamped their branding after unveiling new logos which they hope will modernize the team’s overall look.

The Suns’ primary logo changes for the first time in 13 years (2000) and only the fourth time in franchise history. A basketball sunburst over the stacked words “Phoenix Suns, troche ” the new logo features a black backdrop and a simplified basketball similar to the one used by the team from 1992-2000.

“We are thrilled to roll out new logos which enhance the Suns brand and create an energetic feel that fans can get excited about,” said Suns’ president, Jason Rowley. “The new look embraces the rich history and success of our organization, while offering our fans an update that was long overdue.”

The Suns have also updated the popular “PHX” bird logo, with slight variations to the one originally introduced by the team in 2000. The new version features modernized flames, uplifted wings, and a basketball consistent with the one featured in the primary logo.

Additionally, a new “S” logo combines the club’s past and present by incorporating the sunburst from the team’s primary logo to create a simple mark perfect for merchandise and digital applications. The new logo will only be used when accompanied by another logo or design, as shown on the two t-shirts below. In addition, the “S” will be included as an accent logo on new Suns uniforms scheduled to be unveiled later this summer.

Finally, the “SUNS” word mark featured on the team’s new court last season becomes an accent logo. The ambigram, unique among NBA teams, is featured at center court where it can be easily identified by fans sitting anywhere in US Airways Center.

As has been the case in recent years, the team’s primary color will remain orange, with purple, black and gray rounding out the color palette of the latest brand update. The team will use multiple versions of each logo, including options highlighting purple and black.

“Orange has resonated well with our fans in recent years,” Rowley continued. “And while orange remains our most emphasized color, purple is synonymous with our legacy of success and is here to stay.”

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Leicestershire Cricket Announce Hefty Loss

Leicestershire County Cricket Club have announced a loss of £254, viagra buy 085 for the year ending September 30 2012.

A number of factors prevented the club from matching their financial performance in the previous year, which saw a profit of £294,022 recorded.

Chief executive Mike Siddall said: “The club always knew that the superb performance of 2011 would not be repeated, but we are, nevertheless, disappointed to record such a large loss.

“Last year there were no exceptional receipts from the ECB in respect of the India tour in 2011. This reduced ECB income by £184,098 and there was no repeat of the £95,000 received for the success in the FLt20 competition or the £30,000 for participation in the Champions League.

“Donations to the club were also £170,000 down following the outstanding year in 2011. The main club sponsor did not renew for 2012 and with the worsening economic climate during the year and the worst summer weather for over 50 years almost all areas of income fell short of budget.

“However, it is pleasing to note that expenditure was contained within the figures budgeted.”

Despite expressing disappointment at Leicestershire’s 2012 figures, Siddall retains optimism for the year ahead.

“We have exciting ground development plans including the building of a Community Sports Arena at Grace Road with our partners, Leicester Riders and Leicester College. These plans will aid the financial sustainability of the club,” he added.

“The club has started the 2013 financial year well and has a new club sponsor – Global Payments. We are currently performing to budget although it is too early to tell whether this will lead to a profit being recorded.

“We are all hoping that the summer of 2013 is considerably better than the one we have just suffered.”

NFL Confirms Second Regular-Season Game in 2013, London Mayor Hails ‘fantastic news’

The NFL has confirmed Wembley will host a second NFL regular-season game in 2013 when the Minnesota Vikings play host to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, September 29, 2013,

This is in addition to the previously announced game set for Sunday, October 27, 2013 also at Wembley when the Jacksonville Jaguars will host the San Francisco 49ers.

“Since we started playing regular-season games in London five years ago, we have heard very clearly from our UK fans – they want more football,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who announced the final schedule of UK games for 2013 at the NFL Fall Meeting in Chicago.  “We are excited to play two games in London and take this next step in the growth of our game.  We believe that more football will lead to more fans.”

The Vikings and Steelers will play the first of the two 2013 NFL games at Wembley Stadium, with kickoff set for 1:00 p.m. ET on September 29.  The game a Vikings home game and a one-year commitment by the club  is the first for Minnesota in the UK since a 1983 preseason game at Wembley.

“This is a unique opportunity for the Vikings organization to highlight our brand on an international level,” said Vikings Owner/President Mark Wilf. “Playing in London provides exceptional exposure to the team, as well as Minnesota’s impressive business community and tourism industry. We are honored to represent the NFL on a global level, and we look forward to playing in front of our international fan base.”

The Steelers, owners of an NFL-best six Super Bowl championships, will play for the first time ever in London.

“We are thrilled that our players and Steelers fans around the world will be able to enjoy the atmosphere at historic Wembley Stadium,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II.

Earlier this year, the Jaguars opened a new chapter for the NFL in the UK, making a multi-year commitment to International Series games in London.

Jacksonville will play one regular-season home game in the United Kingdom in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016, all at Wembley Stadium.  The team begins its ground-breaking initiative on October 27, 2013 against San Francisco.

The 2012 International Series game features the St. Louis Rams hosting the New England Patriots at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, October 28, before an expected sellout crowd in excess of 80,000.

The international series of regular-season games to date has contributed to increased NFL fan interest in the UK, with a current fan base of 11 million, including more than two million avid fans, a 32 percent increase in the past two years. 

Television ratings have also shown substantial growth – with Sunday viewership of NFL games up 154 percent and the Super Bowl audience having increased 74 percent since 2006 – and the league has developed new and stronger business partnerships.

Participation in amateur football in the UK has also risen since the start of the international series, growing by approximately 15 percent per year since 2007.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was delighted with the news: “London has staged an extraordinary year of sport and I want to ensure this is a springboard for even more world class sports spectaculars in the future. A second NFL game headed to the capital is fantastic news for sports fans and will help to inject tens of millions of pounds into the city’s economy.” 

Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners, added: “London’s major events team has supported the NFL in growing its presence ever since the first regular season Game in 2007. We are thrilled to see this long-term relationship strengthen even further with the news of another Game for the city. However fans won’t have to wait until next year with another free NFL Fan Rally in Trafalgar Square on the eve of this year’s game next weekend.”

WTA Agrees Deals that will Strengthen its Presence in Asia

The Women’s Tennis Association has agreed two new commercial deals that will strengthen its presence in Asia.

The WTA has signed agreements with California Products and its DecoTurf and Plexipave brands that will see them become the official court surfaces of the WTA and of the WTA’s Tennis Festivals in Guangzhou and Beijing.

WTA Managing Director, Peter Johnston, said the WTA’s success and growth in China and the rest of Asia in recent years is largely because of its partnerships it has formed with brands like California Products.

“Partnering with California Products will allow us to provide the very best playing surfaces at both a grassroots and professional level, furthering the popularity of the game,” he said.

Chinese clothing brand Erke is the WTA’s other new sponsor.

Erke will be the official partner and supplier of sports apparel for all on-court officials at the 2012 and 2013 TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships in Istanbul.

Erke Chairman and President, Wu Rongguang, said: “The partnership with the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships is a perfect stage to show the ERKE brand image to the world.”

Erke has agreed sponsorship deals with WTA players such as Yanina Wickmayer and Vania King and will be the Official Apparel Partner of the ATP’s Shanghai Masters tournament from 2009 to 2013.{jcomments on}

Sochi 2014 Unveil Plans for Kensington Event During London 2012

The Russian Olympic Committee and Sochi 2014 Organising Committee have revealed plans for two summer and winter-themed attractions in Kensington Gardens during the London Olympic Games.

Russia.Sochi.Park comprises Russia.Park and Sochi.Park – two sites that will operate between July 26 and August 12.

Russia.Park will be a summer festival-style fun park, doctor spread over a 10, vialis 40mg 000 m2 area in Perks Field. It will be packed with Russian culture, pills cuisine and sport, including cameos by some of Russia’s leading Olympians and performances by folk artists from all the regions of Russia.

Alexander Zhukov, President of the Russian Olympic Committee said: “The world is fascinated by Russia, and Russia.Sochi.Park offers an opportunity to really experience all the sights, tastes, sounds and people of Russia”.

Sochi.Park will be a winter wonderland in the middle of a London summer, providing a high-tech visitor experience that takes guests through Russia to Sochi, the next Olympic host city via high-tech interactive digital experiences including a 4D chairlift ride up the Krasnodar mountains.

Sochi Park will boast an ice arena on which the biggest ice spectacular ever to be staged outside Russia will be presented: “Sochi – Small Stories of a Big City”, starring 6 Olympic and 18 World Champion ice skaters including llya Averbukh and Tatiana Navka.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, Sochi 2014 President and CEO, said: “We are delighted to be bringing Sochi to London and offering the world a flavor of what can be expected at the next Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Paul Deighton, CEO of LOCOG, added: “I warmly welcome the Russian Olympic Committee to London, and look forward to Russia.Sochi.Park in London this summer.”

Court of Arbitration Switch Pivotal BOA Drug Ban Hearing to London

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) have moved the hearing of the case between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and British Olympic Association (BOA) over the BOA’s drug ban bylaw from Switzerland to London according to the Telegraph.

CAS normally holds its hearings at its headquarters in Lausanne but have now scheduled it to be heard in London on March 12 in a an undisclosed location in London.

The reason for the switch of venues is understood to be purely practical because most of the lawyers involved in the case are London-based according to the Telegraph.

The BOA is appealing against a decision by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to declare it “non-compliant” with the WADA code on the grounds that its lifetime ban amounts to a second punishment over and above the mandatory two-year suspension laid down by the code.

The BOA claims the ban, which is enshrined in a 19-year-old by-law, is a matter of eligibility rather than punishment and that it should be free to set its own selection policy.

Although the switch to London will put the case in the media spotlight, the actual hearing will be held in private, with a decision not expected until April.

WADA will be basing its case on the legal precedent set by a CAS hearing last year involving American Olympic 400 metres champion LaShawn Merritt, who successfully challenged a similar Olympic ban brought in by the International Olympic Committee.

The IOC had introduced a new rule banning athletes suspended for doping for six months or more from competing at the next Olympic Games but a CAS panel declared it “invalid and unenforceable”.

Significantly, the March 12 case will be heard by the same three-plan arbitration panel that was involved in the Merritt case – Canadian Richard McLaren, Switzerland’s Michele Bernasconi and American David Rivkin.

On-site Hospitality Tickets for London 2012 Receiving No Interest

With the London 2012 games fast approaching, just over a third of on-site hospitality tickets for the Games have been sold to date by Prestige Ticketing.

But the lack of interest has not deterred the company with sole corporate hospitality rights inside Olympic venues as they expect to pick up sales.

Prestige Ticketing won a tender by Olympic organisers Locog for some 90,000 tickets – about one per cent of the total allocation but more than 60% of the company’s deals are still on offer. The general expectation from industry insiders have suggested that a much higher proportion of packages to have been sold after nearly seven months of sales.

In the much-criticised public ballot for tickets earlier this year, top-tier tickets at the Olympic ceremonies cost £2,012, ($3,080) with the best seats at athletics events going for £750 ($1,148). The cheapest of Prestige Ticketing’s deals cost £495 ($757), while the most expensive £4,500 ($6,887) packages are being sold in batches of 10 and secure seats at the ceremonies or prized athletics and cycling finals.

At the Olympic Park, Prestige Ticketing is building a £7.5m ($11.5m) three-storey pavilion catering for 3,000 guests at a time, just 70m (77 yards) from the main stadium.

Hospitality venues will also be located at Greenwich Park, North Greenwich Arena, Horse Guards Parade, Eton Dorney and Wimbledon.

The economic downturn meant traditional customers in finance and advertising had been joined by companies in sectors like construction, energy and resources, said the company. While corporate packages at the women’s hockey final had been the first to sell out, there had also been strong demand for the tennis at Wimbledon, rowing at Eton Dorney and equestrian events in Greenwich, said the company.

Prestige Ticketing’s Marketing Director Tony Barnard believes it will be a matter of time before the rest of the tickets are sold.

“We’re seeing a significant increase in sales activity. The ballots for tickets have ended so people know that if they want to go, there’s only one way left to go,” he said.

Coca Cola Launch Plant in Russia to Supply Drinks to Sochi 2014

The Coca-Cola Company has launched a $120 million plant in south Russia to supply non-alcoholic beverages for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Russia’s host city of Sochi.

The plant, some 20 km from Rostov-on-Don, which will be the company’s fifteenth production facility in Russia, will have a capacity of 450 million decaliters of non-alcoholic beverages a year, the company said in a statement.

Muhtar Kent, Coca-cola Chairman and CEO, said: “Our system is part of the fabric of Russia’s economic development and we continue to invest in Russia to create jobs and stimulate growth across our supply chain. Today’s announcement underscores the Coca-Cola system’s long-term strategy of investing in Russia.”

The Coca-Cola Company along with its bottling partner, Coca-Cola Hellenic, will invest in Russia more than $3 billion from 2012 to 2016, Kent also said.