Global sponsorship partners for the six-week Cricket World Cup tournament taking place in the United Kingdom, Holland and Ireland until June 20 are Pepsi-Cola, Emirates Airlines, NatWest bank and Vodafone mobile phones. The event marks the entry into the world of international sports sponsorship for Outspan, South Africa's main brand of citrus fruit.
DUELING HALLS: A battle of the Hall of Fames is shaping up in soccer. The International Football Hall of Fame is scheduled to open in Manchester in 2001. Meanwhile, the Premier League Hall of Fame is planned for London. The London project is backed by United News & Media. Manchester-based media and leisure group Granada may take a stake in the other project. Both United News and Granada own stations in the ITV network, Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster.
LEGENDS RETURN: Title sponsorship is on the market for the International Rugby Legends event to be staged as a sidebar for the Rugby World Cup next autumn. Legends Events Marketing is organizing the 10-game tournament Oct. 29-Nov. 5, which will feature teams of old-timers, current players who aren't on their national teams and under-21 players. Seven countries and a number of retired stars are signed up to take part.
ASCOT TIED: Ascot Racecourse, which is owned by the British Crown, is weighing the possibility of issuing "debentures" to raise $5.6 million to renovate the track. The tradable securities would entitle buyers to purchase box seats for $15,000 to $25,000 during the brief Ascot race season. Essentially, buyers would be paying twice for their seats. The possible move has naturally stirred up some resistance in advance from Ascot box holders. Two other venues whose tickets are highly sought — Wimbledon and Twickenham rugby stadium — already operate debenture plans. If tickets are hot enough, debenture holders can make a profit by selling their right to buy seats.
— Jay Stuart
