Tottenham Drop Judicial Review Over Olympic Stadium

English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur have withdrawn their judicial review against the decision to award the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United after the London 2012 games.

Tottenham and League one team Leyton Orient had appealed against the decision to award West Ham the stadium, buy but the deal collapsed last week after the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) blamed concerns over whether the ongoing legal challenges would put the future ownership of the stadium at risk.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, discount Media and Sport (DCMS) confirmed that the appeal hearing would no longer be taking place.

“We have come to an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur, cough where all parties will bear their own legal costs,” he told insidethegames.

The OPLC, government and mayor of London, Boris Johnson, have now come to the agreement that the stadium will remain in public ownership, although West Ham have indicated that they will still bid for tenancy once the Games end and are willing to pay an annual rent of around £2 million ($3.1m) to acquire it.

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UEFA Select IMG Worldwide as Official Sales Agent for Euro 2012 Hospitality Packages

UEFA has selected IMG Worldwide, discount the global sports, order fashion and media company, to be their official sales agent for UEFA Euro 12 hospitality packages in the UK, Russia and Turkey.

Official hospitality packages for UEFA Euro 2012 are now on sale through IMG in those countries. The tournament, which is jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine, comprises of 31 matches in eight stadiums.

IMG is now on sale with Stadium Series, Country Series and Knockout Series with packages available either in exclusive skyboxes or in Club Prestige Hospitality Lounges. Club Prestige hospitality packages include top-category seats, gourmet catering, a special programme of entertainment before and after the match and much more.

The tournament begins on 8 June 2012, with the opening match to be played in Warsaw, while the final will be played in Kyiv on 1 July 2012.

Mansfield Town bought by multimillionaire

English Blue Square Premier League side Mansfield Town have been bought by Doncaster-based businessman John Radford, it has been announced.

Radford secured the club after paying £1 million (US$1.5 million) to Andy Saunders, Steve Hymas and Steve Middleton. He has instantly committed £250,000 (US$395,000) to the club, and promised to commit the same amount over the course of the season.

Radford is a life-long Mansfield Town supporter and has promised that with the beginning of his reign, the club’s financial situation will improve.

Radford said: “Mansfield is my home town, I was born here, I went to school here and I love Mansfield Town.

“My intention is to get us back into the Football League. I now have the opportunity to help the town of Mansfield out.

“We have no problems as far as funding is concerned and will speak to the manager about the transfer window.”

Force India F1 Announce New Digital Partner

Sahara Force India Formula One Team ihave announced a new partnership with Accelerate, a brand of the Crash Media Group, a leading motorsport editorial group with an involvement in Formula One dating back to 1999.

The partnership will see Accelerate become the team’s official Digital Partner and spearhead the development of the team’s new, cutting-edge website for the 2015 season onwards, while the Accelerate logo will be featured on team assets such as garage interiors and the media wall.

Accelerate’s vision for the new Sahara Force India home on the web will bring a revolution to the team’s digital offering. The new site, integrating the team’s social media presence with a thriving and growing community of fans, is to become a hub of online activity aiming to bridge the gap between the team and its supporters.

William Miller, Managing Director of Crash Media Group: “Crash has had a long relationship with Sahara Force India and I’m now very happy to be strengthening this relationship to becoming an official partner of the team. Sahara Force India is one of the teams in F1 that is moving in the right direction towards the top of the championship and we are very happy to be able to aid them in that fight.

“Accelerate, as part of Crash Media Group, has had the pleasure of being involved in a number of different projects with some amazing clients in terms of the creation of digital assets and this project with Sahara Force India ranks right at the top of all of those. To say we are very excited to be going on this journey with the team is an understatement.”

Otmar Szafnauer, Chief Operating Officer of Sahara Force India: “We are delighted to welcome Accelerate and Crash Media Group as our new Digital Partner. They are established in the motorsport digital world and they are committed to the same values of excellence to which we subscribe. We are excited about the innovations and features they will bring to all our supporters as they renovate our digital presence over the next few seasons.”

FAI Re-Elects Dr. John Grubbström as President

The World Air Sports Federation (FAI) has re-elected Dr. John Grubbström as President for a furthe two years at the General Conference.

Grubbström succeeded Pierre Portmann in 2010 and will remain in the top position until 2016.

FAI Executive Directors Otto Lagarhus from Norway and Beat Neuenschwander from Switzerland both announced their decision not to stand for reelection prior to the conference.

Hungary withdrew its nomination for László Mészáros (Hungary) before the start of the elections.

The candidates elected to serve on FAI Executive Board for a two-year term are:

  • -Mr. Frederik Brink (Netherlands)
  • -Mr. Alvaro de Orleans Borbon (Spain)
  • -Mr. Agust Gudmundsson (Iceland)
  • -Mr. Robert Henderson (New Zealand)
  • -Mr. Niels-Christian Levin Hansen (Denmark)
  • -Mrs. Gillian Rayner (France)

Robert Clipsham bowed out of the Executive Board after having served many years as Finance Director. He was nominated by the President as Companion of Honor for the 109th FAI General Conference 2015.

UFC Enjoys Expansive Viewership Figures in Ireland

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has revealed their event in Dublin, adiposity UFC Fight Night Dublin: McGregor vs. Brandao, cheapest ed was the highest rating sporting event on channel 3e in Ireland.

Coverage of the event reached an 600,000 viewers in total and recorded a peak audience figure of 340,200. An impressive average of 257,500 viewers (and 21% share of the available audience) tuned in to 3e on Saturday night to watchConor ‘The Notorious’ McGregor put on a spectacular performance to defeat Brazil’s Diego Brandao in his hometown of Dublin, making it the highest rating sporting event in the channel’s history.

The sold-out event at Dublin’s O2 arena, delivered massive share figures for a number of demographics, including a 36.69% share for Men 15-34 and an even more impressive 43.33% share for Adults 15-24.

Garry Cook, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of UFC in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: “This was a night that will go down in history within the UFC for the record sell out and viewership figures. The collaboration between UFC and TV3, not just on the night, but in the weeks and days leading to the event has shown how an integrated partnership can benefit both organisations. Throughout the week, TV3 and 3e aired amazing content and were able to access the athletes across a number of platforms, building anticipation and ultimately driving the record breaking audience. We would like to congratulate our friends at TV3 and we look forward to bringing more UFC events in the future.”

Jeff Ford, TV3 Group Director of Content, said: “Saturday night’s fantastic UFC ratings prove that there is a real hunger for MMA in Ireland, in particular Ireland’s own star attraction and showman Conor McGregor. 3e was the first broadcaster to take the plunge and broadcast UFC Live and Free to Air and the feedback from our viewers has been great.  We would like to thank our friends and colleagues from the Ultimate Fighting Championship for their support and help and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the future.”

Australia & New Zealand Announced as Hosts of 2017 Rugby League World Cup

Australia and New Zealand have been announced as the joint hosts of the Rugby League World Cup 2017, viagra buy the Rugby League International Federation (RLIF) confirmed today.

The committee awarded the 15th competition to the two southern hemisphere teams ahead of South Africa who was the only other bidder.

Chairman of the bid committee and RLIF Vice-Chair, Nigel Wood said: “This was not a simple decision but with fans of international Rugby League buoyed by the recent success of RLWC2013, we were determined to get it right.”

“Both bids were thoroughly compelling but the joint Australia/New Zealand bid was selected as the one with the greatest chance of success in providing more compelling games in world class environments in front of big, passionate crowds.” 

“The bid from South Africa was very strong, prepared professionally and clearly demonstrated a passion for Rugby League that is growing by the day in that country.” 

How can Rugby League make their World Cup appealing for emerging markets to host?

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Fox Drops Scarlett Johansson Super Bowl Ad Over Coke & Pepsi Dig

Fox has banned a SodaStream advert, due to be released for the Superbowl, featuring A-list actress Scarlett Johansson.

The ad, which is sexually suggestive, wasn’t banned for its imagery though, but was rather given the flick for having a dig at Coke and Pepsi.

SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum told USA Today that Fox is “afraid” of Coke and Pepsi.

“What are they afraid of?” asks Birnbaum. “Which advertiser in America doesn’t mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I’m disappointed as an American.”

SodaStream’s chief marketing officer, Ilan Nacasch, added: “We were very surprised and disappointed when we heard from Fox that they were rejecting that line. This ad is perfectly fine to be aired in the US,” said Nacasch. “We’re mentioning our competitors in a fun, light hearted way. Everybody knows that for many years in the US there has been competitive advertising, not just mentioning the competition but doing comparative advertising.

“Coke and Pepsi themselves should remember that for many years they have been attacking each other with their advertising, including during the Super Bowl. So there is something wrong and shocking in the decision of Fox to not allow this line to be said during the Super Bowl. It raises a lot of questions. Would this have happened if Coke and Pepsi were not two of the biggest advertisers during the Super Bowl day? I don’t know exactly. But I suspect that Fox didn’t want to get Coke and Pepsi upset.”

The unedited commercial has been released on the brand’s YouTube page and has already pulled in over 1.2 million views. Nacasch explained that SodaStream has no plans to stop using the line in future.

Birnbaum says that SodaStream will drop the line ‘Sorry, Coke and Pepsi’ from the advertisement because it has been given little choice.

Check out the advert here 

 

Infront Sports & Media Renew Four Hills Marketing Partnership

Infront Sports & Media has extended its deal as marketing partner of the Vierschanzentournee (Four Hills tournament).

The agreement with the German Ski Federation (DSV) and the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) runs up to and including 2017/18. In addition to the overall commercialisation of the event, discount the collaboration also includes the implementation of marketing services on site.

As a partner of the two national federations, medstore Infront has been involved in the marketing of the Vierschanzentournee since 2010 and has together with the federations as well as the four venue operators worked on significantly enhancing the tradition-rich series.

Thomas Pfüller, General Secretary of the German Ski Federation, said: “Over the last four years, we have worked very well with Infront, not only in the area of marketing, but also by optimising the overall appearance of the Vierschanzentournee. The event is highly significant for the DSV and we are convinced we will tie into previous successes through this continued partnership.”

Dr. Klaus Leistner, General Secretary of the Austrian Ski Federation, said: “We are delighted to continue this proven path together with Infront over the next four years. With many years of experience and know-how in winter sports, we have a good base from which we can continue presenting the Vierschanzentournee as an international top event in the future. The eternal duel between Germany and Austria will continue to generate great tension and excitement.”

Stefan Krauss, Managing Director of Infront Austria, commented: “We are proud to have retained the Vierschanzentournee – as a highlight in winter sports – within our portfolio. Continuing to work closely with two of the most significant national federations in international skiing, we will also in the future offer a highly exclusive and international platform to sponsors.”

The Four Hills tournament began on 28 and 29 December with the qualification in Oberstdorf. The other three events will take place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (31 December/1 January), Innsbruck (3/4 January) and Bischofshofen (5/6 January).

San Jose Earthquakes Begin Revamp of Club’s Future Office & Locker Rooms

Major League Soccer’s (MLS) San Jose Earthquakes has begun building the steel framework for the club’s future office building and locker rooms at their new stadium site Tuesday morning.

Recently signed head coach Mark Watson, general manager John Doyle and president Dave Kaval signed the first crossbeam, which was placed on the west end of the structure. Representatives from Devcon Construction and Schuff Steel Company were also on hand to celebrate the occasion.

“Today is another milestone in our construction process as we continue to build our new home,” Kaval said. “We wanted to commemorate our future team building by including two of the stakeholders who will be tied to that facility, our head coach and general manager. The next step that fans will see in December is the erection of the stadium’s superstructure.”

The Earthquakes’ new 18,000-seat stadium will be located on Coleman Ave next to San Jose International Airport. The stadium was designed by renowned stadium architecture firm 360 Architecture – designers of Safeco Field and MetLife Stadium.  The stadium will feature a European-style roof design that was inspired by many stadia in Europe, including Craven Cottage (Home of Fulham Football Club) and Loftus Road (Home of Queens Park Rangers).