North America

The Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball franchise has reached an agreement with the city of St Petersburg that will allow the team to seek potential new stadium sites in the Tampa Bay area.

The NHL will not stand in the way of potential franchise owner William Foley holding a season-ticket drive to gauge the level of interest for a possible team in Las Vegas, according to the North American ice hockey league’s commissioner Gary Bettman.

The NBA (National Basketball Association) has the most comprehensive social media following out of any American sports league, its official platform boasting over 26 million Facebook likes and 11.6 million Twitter followers. The NFL (National Football League), by comparison, has four million fewer Twitter followers and over 14 million fewer Facebook likes.

The Dallas Cowboys is the NFL (National Football League) franchise with the highest number of Facebook likes, currently 7.7 million, one million more than any other team. The Cowboys have the best overall social media presence in the NFL, according to social media analyst Starcount, which also ranks the Cowboys as the sixth best sports team in the world on social media.

Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke has stated it will be a long time before women receive the same pay as men at World Cups, dismissing as “nonsense” suggestions that the controversial use of artificial turf at the 2015 Women’s World Cup is discriminatory.

Rob Manfred, the incoming commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB), has opted to reorganise his executive team as part of an ongoing transition process ahead of his arrival into the post.

US sports business investment firm Alchemy Global has launched a London office as it seeks to extend its worldwide presence.

David Beckham’s business group has maintained his plan to secure a Major League Soccer (MLS) team for Miami will happen adding they hope to have “positive and exciting news” soon, while the former England captain and British business partner Simon Fuller have signed a “groundbreaking” joint venture with Global Brands Group.

Indian motorcycle manufacturer Hero MotoCorp has signed 14-time major champion Tiger Woods as its first global corporate partner in a lucrative deal designed to support its global growth plans.

The genesis of a new or renovated stadium begins with the rights-holder who creates a brief that has to both push boundaries and stay within budget. Elisha Chauhan spoke to venue operators of the historic MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) and MLB (Major League Baseball) team the Minnesota Twins’ Target Field to find out the challenges each faced in the design process.

The PGA of America has elected its first female officer, with Suzy Whaley in line to assume the presidency of the organisation in 2018.

The NFL (National Football League) has moved closer to a permanent Los Angeles return. However, many observers believe having a team back in the United States’ second-largest city could actually have a negative impact. Barry Wilner explains why.

Rob Manfred has been formally confirmed as the new commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB) at the organisation’s quarterly owners’ meeting.

The French Football League (LFP) has announced that its Trophee des Champions will return to Montreal in 2015.

National Hockey League (NHL) commissioner Gary Bettman has said the return of the World Cup of Hockey, rather than participation at the 2018 winter Olympics, is the organisation’s main focus as it reportedly seeks to draw up a 12-year plan for the international game.

The Australian Football League (AFL) has said it is considering expanding its International Rules series venture with the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) into the US.