Ovitz's NFL group ready to spend

Michael Ovitz, the former Walt Disney Co. president and ex-Hollywood super- agent, said the star-studded group he is leading to bring an NFL team back to Los Angeles "would be happy to bring a football team to this city and get out with the shirts on our backs." Ovitz, leading a prospective o ...

Tags: Magic Johnson Theaters, Microsoft Corp., New Coliseum Partners, NFL, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams, Walt Disney Co.

ESPN seeks virtual ads in deals

ESPN wants future broadcast contracts to include the rights to sell virtual signs. The network is working to include virtual signs in contracts it is negotiating with the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour, said Steven Risser, ESPN vice president of programming. "It just happens to be that those are g ...

Tags: ESPN, Pilson Communications Inc., Princeton Video Image Inc., WTA

Application deadline for '12 extended

The U.S. Olympic Committee extended the application deadline for cities bidding for the 2012 Olympics after five cities failed to acknowledge that the local government must indemnify the Games against any financial shortfall. New York, Seattle, San Francisco and Washington-Baltimore didn't ackno ...

Tags: IOC

ESPN pursues Web connection with U.S. committee

ESPN Internet Ventures is negotiating with the U.S. Olympic Committee to provide information about Olympic sports through the ESPN.com Web site, said Todd Sims, director of league services for ESPN's Internet division. The talks fit into ESPN's strategy to expand sports coverage by partnering wi ...

Tags: ESPN, Internet Ventures Inc., NBA, NHL

USOC helps Sydney line up U.S. backers

The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, suffering from a budget shortfall, may get help from American companies that sponsor the U.S. Olympic Committee. The USOC has been helping Sydney organizers line up U.S. sponsors, said John Krimsky Jr., USOC managing director of business affairs. "What we are tr ...

Tags: UAL Corp.

Boxing bill counted out till next year

Legislation that would reform the boxing industry, including protections for fighters against unscrupulous promoters, will have to wait until next year, said U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the bill's author. The Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act of 1998 was approved unanimously by the U.S. Senate ...

Potential deals threatened

Some of the $250 million in sponsorships being pursued by Olympic Properties of the U.S. could be jeopardized by the global economic crisis. "The stock market is down, the economy is under certain pressure, so clearly companies are looking at Olympic sponsorship within the context of their curre ...

Skate event will pump profit to L.A. club

Los Angeles won a hard-fought competition with Portland to host the 2002 U.S. figure skating national championships by cutting a deal that gave the local figure skating club most of the potential $1.5 million profit. Bill Fitzpatrick, chairman of the U.S. Figure Skating Association's competition ...

Tags: NBA, NHL, Sports Authority Inc., Staples Inc.

Warriors retool sales efforts after nightmare season

Faced with low attendance and a tarnished image, the Golden State Warriors have launched an effort to improve ticket sales and boost their profile. The team averaged about 10,000 fans a game last year in the midst of a season that featured a 19-63 record and produced only one highlight: guard La ...

Tags: Golden State Warriors, NBA

Cities balk at 2012 Olympic demands

Some U.S. cities may drop out of the race to host the 2012 Olympics because of a new International Olympic Committee requirement that they indemnify the Games against financial loss. The U.S. Olympic Committee extended the deadline for getting a city council resolution after four 2012 bidders &# ...

Tags: IOC