BOSTON
BC, Spectra partner with SeatGeek
Boston College and its ticketing partner, Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement, reached a deal with SeatGeek that allows fans to buy box office tickets to BC athletics events directly through SeatGeek’s mobile app and website. The partnership displays official primary inventory to more than 8 million users.
FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.
Strikers packing for China
The NASL Fort Lauderdale Strikers will be touring China Feb. 28 through March 12. Part-owner Ronaldo will join the club on the trip. In addition to playing four friendlies, the Strikers will team with Ronaldo’s R9 Academy to host a tryout for talented Chinese players, with one player to be selected to earn a contract with the Strikers.
HOUSTON
WISE chapter opening doors
A chapter of WISE: Women in Sports and Events is set to launch in Houston on Feb. 29, making the city the first in Texas with a WISE chapter. The launch event is slated for the Diamond Club of Minute Maid Park.
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The season-ticket price for lower-level seats between the end zones and 25-yard lines are going from $1,400 to $1,480.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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INDIANAPOLIS
Colts raising ticket prices
The Indianapolis Colts are increasing season-ticket prices this year, but the team has pledged not to raise prices in 2017, according to an Indianapolis Star report. Increases in 10 of the 11 price points range from 1.4 percent to 6.3 percent. A letter sent to ticket holders said the average season-ticket price is up about 2 percent per year since Lucas Oil Stadium opened in 2008.
NEW YORK
Red Bulls, MSG Networks extend deal
MSG Networks and the New York Red Bulls agreed to a multiyear rights agreement extension, keeping the RSN as the team’s exclusive regional TV home. MSG is scheduled to telecast at least 17 matches in 2016, including the March 6 season opener against Toronto FC.
Tennis returning to Brooklyn
Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick, Jim Courier and James Blake are scheduled to compete in the PowerShares QQQ Cup Dec. 3 at Barclays Center, the first tennis event to be played at the venue. Brooklyn’s tennis history includes 1902 Davis Cup matches at the Crescent Athletic Club and the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships of 1935 being played at the Terrace Club.
PHILADELPHIA
Sponsor extends with rugby tourneys
Penn Mutual extended its title sponsorship rights to the Collegiate Rugby Championship and Varsity Cup tournaments through 2019. The two tournaments, played at Talen Energy Park, are owned by United World Sports and broadcast by NBC. Penn Mutual’s original deal was set to expire in 2017.
Phillies get analytic with CoachMePlus
The Philadelphia Phillies reached a deal with CoachMePlus that calls for the company to work with the team’s medical and performance staff. CoachMePlus will provide to the team its athlete data management system, which employs predictive performance analytics to help monitor players’ health status.
Eagles sign camp operator ESF
The Philadelphia Eagles reached a deal with ESF Camps that makes the company the official camp operator of the team. ESF will create the Eagles Football Academy, a series of camps for fans of all ages that will include youth football camps, cheerleading camps and an Eagles Fantasy Camp for adults.
Flyers, doctors start initiative
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Rothman Institute at Jefferson, the region’s largest orthopedic practice, formed a joint youth hockey injury prevention initiative. The program, titled Keeping You In The Game, will bring Rothman’s doctors into youth hockey rinks across the Philadelphia area to educate young players and their parents on injury prevention and concussion information.
PITTSBURGH
Pirates, AAA packing for Puerto Rico
The Pittsburgh Pirates and AAA Travel are teaming to offer fans an opportunity to follow the team to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in May. During the three-day trip, guests will have the chance to attend both games of the Pirates’ two-game series against Miami at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.
SARASOTA, FLA.
O’s spring training home wins STMA award
The Sports Turf Managers Association awarded Ed Smith Stadium, spring training home of the Baltimore Orioles, as Field of the Year for professional baseball. Dan Thomas, head groundskeeper of Florida operations, accepted the award last month at the 27th annual STMA Conference & Exhibition in San Diego.
SONOMA, CALIF.
Chevys Fresh Mex going racing
Sonoma Raceway signed a multiyear agreement with Chevys Fresh Mex under which the California-inspired Mexican restaurant becomes title sponsor of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West feature at the track. The Chevys Fresh Mex 200 will serve as Saturday’s main event during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend, June 24-26.
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STILLWATER, OKLA.
Wrestling hall marks anniversary
The National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum unveiled the official logo for its 40th anniversary this year. The logo was created by Kim Woodard of Woodard Design in Tulsa, Okla.
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.
Athletes attending mandatory class
Florida State University athletes have started attending the Seminole Leadership Program, according to a Palm Beach Post report. The noncredited course is open to all students but mandatory for athletes. It will focus on topics such as leadership, time management, social pressures, effective communication, social responsibility, financial literacy, domestic violence and substance abuse.
TAMPA-ST. PETERSBURG
Grand Prix renews Chevy, Cadillac
Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg renewed its partnership with Chevrolet and Cadillac for 2016, granting Chevrolet trucks and Cadillac cars the title of official vehicles for the March 11-13 event. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Verizon IndyCar Series and Pirelli World Challenge drivers who race for Team Chevy and Cadillac Racing.
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Jerseys were signed and auctioned, and goaltender Philipp Grubauer (below) donned a special mask.
Photos by: WASHINGTON CAPITALS PHOTOGRAPHY
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WASHINGTON, D.C.
Capitals auction raises $46K
The Monumental Sports & Entertainment Foundation raised $46,125 for Defending the Blue Line and USO of Metropolitan Washington Baltimore through an auction on Salute to the Military Night, Feb. 4, during the Washington Capitals game against the New York Islanders. The auction featured autographed jerseys, goalie masks and pucks.
Caps, Subway start mobile scratch-offs
The Capitals agreed to a deal with Subway restaurants that provides for the launch of the Washington Capitals Instant Win Mobile Scratch Off Game. Prizes include VIP player events and free Subway food by using the Subway app to participate. Additional prizes include a team practice viewing party and the chance to attend the taping of a Capitals television production.
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.
Sahlen’s renews with championship event
Sahlen Packing Co. and Watkins Glen International reached a multiyear renewal of the company’s sponsorship of the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event. With the renewal, the Watkins Glen International Tailgate Zone areas will be renamed the Sahlen’s Tailgate Zone area for the track’s NASCAR weekend, with updated signage and branding.
COAST TO COAST — BEYOND THE COASTS
BARCELONA
Tennis tourney taps official beer
The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell signed an agreement with Estrella Damm that makes the Barcelona-based brand the official beer of the ATP World Tour event through 2019, according to a Mundo Deportivo report. The tournament is scheduled for April 18-24.
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA
Reds sign Japanese company
Japanese gas appliances company Rinnai signed on as partner of Super Rugby club Queensland Reds for the 2016 season. The company’s logo will be featured on the collar of the team’s jersey.
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA
Women’s baseball event signs LG
LG was selected as the official title sponsor of the World Baseball Softball Confederation Women’s Baseball World Cup 2016. The seventh edition of the women’s baseball competition will be held Sept. 3-11 in Busan. SBS will serve as the host broadcaster and showcase the games to national audiences.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND
Team partners with 3 newspapers
News UK’s Scottish titles — The Scottish Sun, The Times Scotland and The Sunday Times Scotland — were announced as the official newspaper partners of Scottish Rugby. The three-year partnership was reached just ahead of the Scotland team beginning play in this year’s RBS 6 Nations tournament.
HAMBURG, GERMANY
Hamburg SV gets financial boost
Bundesliga club Hamburg SV secured new investors, according to an SID report. The financially struggling club has reportedly sold shares in the football department to Hamburg-based family business Burmeister — a 1.5 percent stake worth $4.5 million — and logistics billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne.
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY
Bayer 04 wearing Jako
Bundesliga club Bayer 04 Leverkusen agreed to a deal with sportswear company Jako, to take effect with the start of the 2016-17 season. The two-year deal includes an option for an additional 12 months.
British Wrestling
partners with UFC
UFC and the British Wrestling Association have partnered to promote amateur and Olympic wrestling throughout the United Kingdom.
“We are very happy to announce our new partnership with the British Wrestling Association,” said James Elliott, UFC senior vice president and general manager of Europe, Middle East and Africa. “UFC is fully committed to supporting the development of clean and safe amateur sports. Our sports share the same core values, and wrestlers are among the most dedicated athletes in the world.”
With the deal, the British Wrestling Association and its events will be featured across UFC platforms that include TV, digital and social media.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND
U.S. ownership to review ticket prices
Liverpool FC owner Fenway Sports Group is considering a review of its ticket prices after the recent walkout at Anfield by thousands of supporters in protest of the prices, according to a (London) Express report. Transatlantic discussions continued last week with senior Liverpool management and FSG.
MANCHESTER
Man U hits pitch with ‘Deadpool’
Manchester United agreed to a deal with 20th Century Fox that calls for spotlighting the main character of new superhero film “Deadpool,” according to a Financial Times report. The deal will see Fox’s films advertised during Premier League games and in postmatch interview backdrops for the rest of the team’s season.
PYEONGCHANG, S. KOREA
Olympic sponsor target at 70 percent
South Korean organizers of the 2018 Winter Olympics have reached 70 percent of their target of $728 million in domestic sponsorships, according to an AP report. “A few [deals] are not finalized, but I have full confidence that we can meet the target,” said Pyeongchang Organizing Committee President Cho Yang-ho. “If we exceed it, we can leave a legacy fund.”
SÃO PAULO
Palmeiras signs lucrative kit deal
Brasileiro club Palmeiras reached a $14.5 million kit sponsorship deal believed to be the largest in Brazilian club football, according to a SoccerEx report. The deal makes financial firm Crefisa and educational network Faculdades das Américas, two companies with the same parent company, the exclusive sponsors of the club’s kit until the end of the team’s 2016 season.
SYDNEY
NFL Pro Bowl could head Down Under
Sydney is edging closer to hosting the NFL’s annual Pro Bowl after league officials confirmed they are looking at a very specific proposal to hold the concept in Australia, according to a (Sydney) Daily Telegraph report. Mark Waller, NFL executive vice president of international, said that the league was seriously considering moving the showcase Down Under.
VALENCIA, SPAIN
La Liga team signs betting partner
La Liga side Valencia reached a partnership agreement with international sports betting operator Codere Apuestas. With the deal, the Codere Apuestas logo will be displayed on the left sleeve of the team shirt in domestic competitions, and a series of sponsorship events will be activated throughout the current season.
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