BALTIMORE
Owners OK $60M for Ravens
NFL team owners approved $60 million in league-backed stadium financing for the Baltimore Ravens, who are spending $120 million on upgrades to M&T Bank Stadium. The renovation will occur over three offseasons, said team President Dick Cass. This offseason, new video boards from Samsung will be installed.
BOSTON
Sox flying JetBlue through 2030
JetBlue renewed its Boston Red Sox sponsorship, continuing as the team’s official airline through the 2030 season. The deal includes a joint commitment to community causes in Boston. More than 40,000 co-branded hats were delivered to students and staff at area public schools.
NB proclaims ‘This is Boston’
A new marketing campaign from New Balance launched last week celebrates its roster of Boston-area athletes and the city’s sports accomplishments, according to a Boston Herald report. “This Is Boston” features Bruins defenders Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug, skateboarder PJ Ladd, Olympic runner Abbey D’Agostino, middle-distance runner Cory McGee, and Dustin Pedroia and Brock Holt of the Red Sox.
MEMPHIS
Redbirds adding rooftop garden
The Memphis Redbirds are adding a Miracle-Gro Rooftop Garden at AutoZone Park. The Redbirds are planning to use a portion of the food and herbs grown in the garden in food served at the concession stands during games. Local and sustainable food is a major push in Memphis’ culinary culture.
MIAMI
Ross proposes new tennis complex
Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross proposed building a tennis complex adjacent to Hard Rock Stadium and partnering with the ATP/WTA Miami Open owners to move the tournament from Key Biscayne to Miami Gardens, according to a Miami Herald report. The proposal would be privately funded.
A-Rod on board with UFC Gym
Former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez purchased the UFC Gym franchise in Kendall, Fla., and secured developmental rights for additional gyms throughout Miami-Dade County. Rodriguez will take ownership of the state’s first signature UFC Gym immediately and schedule a grand reopening celebration at a later date.
NEW YORK
Cosmos don Inaria threads
The New York Cosmos partnered with Inaria, a designer and manufacturer of soccer apparel and equipment. Cosmos players will wear custom uniforms and apparel produced by Inaria. Two other NASL clubs, the San Francisco Deltas and Edmonton FC, are also partners.
OLEAN, N.Y.
Bonnies adding men’s lacrosse
St. Bonaventure University will add men’s lacrosse beginning with the 2018-19 academic year. The new team will be the 17th Division I sport at Bona. Officials called the addition a strategic decision that will add 45-50 student athletes to the campus. The university will conduct a national search for a head coach while also pursuing a conference affiliation.
PHILADELPHIA
Union extends law firm partnership
Semanoff Ormsby Greenberg & Torchia will continue as a Proud Partner of the Philadelphia Union. SOGT, whose tagline is “Business Lawyers Serving Business People,” is set to receive hospitality and traditional signage in Talen Energy Stadium as well as branding in the facility’s club/suite elevator.
Draft event draws big interest
In the two weeks and two days after registration opened, more than 156,000 people signed up to attend the NFL Draft Experience being held April 27-29 at an outdoor theater at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The fan festival is free to the public and will be held along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway before and during the draft.
SALT LAKE CITY
School will look at Rice-Eccles expansion
The University of Utah will lead a feasibility study for the expansion of Rice-Eccles Stadium, according to a Salt Lake Tribune report. The study will include a market analysis as well as study funding models and potential costs of adding to the 19-year-old venue. Utah will look at raising ticket prices as well as ways of securing more private donations to help pay for the potential project.
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The Alamodome takes on a much different look with baseball specs and green turf.
Photo by: RYAN SANDERS BASEBALL
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SAN ANTONIO
Baseball takes over Alamodome
Ryan Sanders Baseball held its fifth annual H-E-B Big League Weekend at the iconic Alamodome March 17-18. Nearly 50,000 fans watched as the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers played two spring training games in the facility that was retrofitted for baseball. Ryan Sanders Baseball collaborates with AstroTurf to build a 133,000-square-foot custom field for the Alamodome floor. Three hundred cubic yards of dirt is brought in each year for the base around the infield. The event has drawn more than 275,000 fans over the past five years.
SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ.
Spring training draws more than 300,000
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, the spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, set attendance records for this year’s Cactus League. The venue drew more than 300,000 fans for the seventh consecutive season.
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GARBER
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ST. LOUIS
Voters decide MLS expansion fate
MLS Commissioner Don Garber last week said he’s confident St. Louis will get a team in the league’s four-team expansion if voters this week approve financing for a stadium. Proposition 2 would designate $60 million in public financing toward a 22,000-seat downtown venue.
COAST TO COAST — BEYOND THE COASTS
CHESTERFIELD, ENGLAND
Spireites sign shirt sponsor
Leengate Valves agreed to a sponsorship deal to become Chesterfield FC’s back-of-shirt sponsor. The deal, which covers the 2017-18 and 2018-19 League One seasons, will also feature Leengate Valves’ logo on the team’s warmup kit.
DUBAI, U.A.E.
Refugee athletes detained
Seven members of the team of refugees that competed in the 2016 Olympic Games were detained at the airport when they arrived to speak at an event attended by Emir Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, according to an IB Times report. The athletes, all African members of the official Refugee Olympic Team, were held for up to 11 hours despite being officially invited to the annual Global Education and Skills Foundation conference.
MILAN
AC Milan buyers create company
Chinese investors set to buy AC Milan created a new company structure in Luxembourg to finalize acquisition of the Serie A club, according to a Reuters report. Rossoneri Sport Investment Lux will replace the Chinese bidding group, identified by AC Milan’s owners as Sino-Europe Sports, a spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the new entity was controlled by investor Li Yonghong.
SYDNEY
Swans sign Nike, others
Australian Football League side Sydney Swans announced three corporate partners this season: Nike, property group Dexus and sports nutrition company Science in Sport. Swans players and coaching staff will have access to Nike football boots, running and training shoes and the Nike Pro range.
TOKYO
Ceremonies experts approved
The 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee’s executive board approved a panel of experts in various fields to advise on the production of the opening and closing ceremonies, according to a Kyodo report. The panel includes 1964 Tokyo Olympic weightlifting gold medalist Yoshinobu Miyake, author Ayako Sono and one foreigner, David Atkinson, a former analyst with Goldman Sachs based in Japan.
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