North America

Motorsport
Events

US motor racing series IndyCar has released details of its schedule for the 2017 season, confirming a new event at Gateway Sports Park in Madison, Illinois, and a multi-year extension to its race deal with the Watkins Glen International circuit in upstate New York.

Ice Hockey
Events

North American ice hockey league the NHL has expanded its partnership with Sportradar to incorporate the sports and betting-related services company’s Fraud Detection System (FDS) into its practices.

Motorsport
Events

Motorsport event the Race of Champions (ROC) will be staged in the United States for the first time next year, with Miami confirmed as the host city.

Rugby Union
Business

Officials from the Pro12 rugby union competition are set to hold further talks next month with their counterparts in the United States and Canada regarding expanding the league by adding two teams from the North American countries.

Sailing
Business

Harvey Schiller has elected to step down from his role as commercial commissioner of the 35th edition of sailing’s America’s Cup.

Retired NBA basketball star Kobe Bryant has started a $100m (€88.3m) media, technology and data venture capital fund.

Swimming
Sponsorship & Marketing

US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte has lost all four of his major sponsors after apologising for “exaggerating” a story about being robbed at gunpoint during the summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Basketball
Events

North American basketball league the NBA has confirmed that its 2017 All-Star Game will take place in New Orleans.

Football
Business

Minnesota United has been confirmed as Major League Soccer’s 22nd franchise for the 2017 season of the North American league, with the team set to call the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium its temporary home.

Basketball
Events

The NBA North American basketball league will stage its 2017 All-Star Game in New Orleans, a report claimed today (Friday).

Baseball
Business

The sale of a controlling stake in the Seattle Mariners to a consortium led by Western Wireless founder John Stanton and retired Microsoft executive Chris Larson has been approved by North America’s Major League Baseball owners.

Ice Hockey
Events

Organisers of the World Cup of Hockey have stated that they are seeking to utilise the resurrected national team tournament as the anchor point for an expanded effort by the National Hockey League (NHL) to tap into the global ice hockey market.

Baseball

Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and one of the oldest ballparks in Major League Baseball (MLB), could be set to change hands after Maricopa County officials signed a letter of intent to sell the venue.

Winter Sports
Events

The Big White ski resort in Canada has been awarded hosting rights to the 2017 World Para Snowboard Championships, the last major event to be held before the 2018 winter Paralympic Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

US college sports conference the Big 12 will open talks with 17 schools regarding potential expansion, according to ESPN.com.

Mixed Martial Arts
Business

A new union for mixed martial arts fighters has been formed to represent the shared interests of competitors, with an initial focus on the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Rugby Union
Events

A new US-based rugby sevens national team tournament is set to take place next year after an agreement was reached between sports and entertainment companies Grand Prix Entertainment and W Partners.

Motorsport
Events

Pocono Raceway is to remain on the schedule of US motor racing series IndyCar for a further two years.