North America

Equestrian
Business

The International Equestrian Federation (FEI) is searching for a new host for its showpiece World Equestrian Games in 2018 after electing to terminate its contract with the Canadian city of Bromont.

Basketball
Events

North American basketball league the NBA has removed hosting rights for its 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte amid ongoing concerns over a law in the city’s home state of North Carolina that limits anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay and transgender people.

Action Sports
Events

ESPN, the US sports broadcaster and creator of the X Games, has selected Minneapolis as the next American host city for the summer edition of its action sports event under a two-year deal.

Baseball
Business

Christopher Correa, the former scouting director of MLB baseball franchise the St. Louis Cardinals, has been sentenced to almost four years in jail after he was found guilty of hacking the internal network of rival team the Houston Astros.

Rugby Union
Events

Pro12 organisers are looking into overseas expansion projects in a bid to raise the profile of the pan-European rugby union club competition, with the United States and mainland Europe mooted as possible locations for a new franchise.

Baseball
Business

Major League Baseball (MLB) has signed a five-year extension to its longstanding partnership with the USA Baseball national governing body.

Basketball

The National Basketball Association has announced that the Spanish city of Barcelona will host Europe’s first NBA Café.

American Football
Business

NFL American football franchise the Dallas Cowboys has replaced Spanish Liga football club Real Madrid at the top of Forbes’ annual list of the 50 most valuable sports teams in the world.

Australian sports analytics company Catapult has furthered its goal of becoming the global market leader for such services in elite sports by sealing a merger agreement with US firm XOS Digital and acquiring Irish group PlayerTek.
Business

Private equity investment firm Providence Equity Partners is exploring a sale of the Learfield Communications agency, which specialises in US college sport, according to Bloomberg.

Baseball
Events

Major League Baseball (MLB) commissioner Rob Manfred has revealed that expansion is off the table until ballpark issues can be resolved for the Oakland Athletics and Tampa Bay Rays and admitted that the proposed dates for the sport’s return to the Olympic Games are “not ideal.”

Tennis

The US Open has bolstered its position as the most lucrative grand slam tennis tournament by announcing a 10 per cent increase in prize money to $46.3m (€42m) for its 2016 edition.
Business

Los Angeles 2024 has appointed Bob Iger, chairman and chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, as vice-chair of the board of directors for its bid for the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Baseball
Events

North America’s Major League Baseball (MLB) has dropped its plans to stage regular-season games in London in 2017.
Business

US-headquartered digital services company Omnigon has hired Andrew Silver in the newly created role of chief operating officer.
Business

CSM has appointed senior Octagon official Jeff Shifrin as chief executive of its North America business, with its rival agency announcing two leadership promotions in the wake of the news.

Mixed Martial Arts
Business

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) president Dana White has said the mixed martial arts promotion’s takeover by the WME-IMG agency will take it to the “next level” after the deal was formally confirmed this (Monday) afternoon.

Motorsport
Events

US motor racing series IndyCar has signed a two-year extension to its deal with Iowa Speedway to ensure that a race will continue to take place at the venue in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.